The Next Hero
by RobynRosalie245
Summary: As Emma Swan becomes the Dark One, Henry comes across another character in the book who could be the key to saving his mom. The view point changes from Storybrooke to the Enchanted Forest, as the newest character is explained, and how her connection to Regina and Robin is far deeper than anyone could have known.
1. Letting Go

Once Upon a Time Fanfiction

Family Reunion

Chapter One: Letting Go

 _Into the Enchanted Forest_

Rushing through the pine trees, Gerda tried to catch her breath. But the Queen's knights were reaching her village, and she needed to inform her father. She puffed through her nose and ran all the harder. Reaching her village minutes later, she ran by the bakery, and straight to the main court house.

"Mayor Gardbor!" Gerda called out, trying to catch her breath. "The Queen is on her way here!" Gerda shouted, trying to catch anyone's attention.

The round bellied mayor looked up at Gerda from his desk, and nodded. "Get to your father. We will stall the Queen." He replied to the girl.

Gerda understood, and ran out the door, heading straight for the hill, where her and her father's small house stood. Not bothering to knock, she entered the wooden building, and closed the door.

"Father? Father! The Queen is on her way!" Gerda shouted. She need not have, as her father was sitting at the table, most likely thinking about Gerda's late mother. He looked up at his daughter, panic across his face.

"How long do we have?" He questioned, rising from his chair to grab his cloak. He also grabbed one for his daughter. As he got closer to Gerda, he looked into his daughter's blues eyes, which were placed behind her spectacles.

"I don't know, perhaps three minutes." Gerda guessed, shrugging. "All I know is that the mayor wants us to get to the forest."

Her father nodded, and together they went to the door. As they rushed down to the village, Gerda noticed all the village folk lining up on either side of the main road, awaiting the royal carriage. All except one older woman, who was having a hard time trying to rise off the ground.

Without thinking, Gerda directed her path towards the woman, ignoring her father's warnings. "Gerda! Come, we need to go."

And he was right, as he noticed the Queen's carriage arriving. It was too late for Gerda to get to the woods. She yelled for her father to go ahead, and swallowed deeply as she helped to raise the woman off the ground. Hearing the carriage stop behind her, she hurried to help the woman up.

"Away from the elder." A man's voice demanded, pulling Gerda away from the woman. The woman was very close to being raised from the ground, but without Gerda's help she fell again. The knight pushed Gerda to the other side of the road, placing her among other youth.

As the towns people watched helplessly as the older woman tried to stand, the Evil Queen came out of her carriage, wearing a seductive black dress and cloak. Her hair was in a side ponytail, with her dark hair reached her hip, and her lips were as red as blood. It reminded Gerda of when she had bitten her lip, and the colour of red that dripped onto the ground.

The Queen stopped in front of the older woman, smiling cruelly. "Well well dear, we seem to be having some difficulty here." She stated, smiling. "You need to rise, old woman. And bow to your Queen."

However, the old woman would not bow. Instead, surprising all the towns folk including Gerda, the old woman looked up into the Queen's face, and smiled.

"If I am not able to bow down to true royalty, then I would rather not bow at all." The woman stated.

The Queen looked down at the woman, angry. "Then you may die, and bow down to the king in the next life." Raising her hand, fire appeared, which Gerda had recognized immediately as dark magic. Her father had been teaching Gerda all about magic, because of her strange gift.

Before the Queen could strike, Gerda reached out her hand. "Stop!" She yelled. Big mistake. The Queen turned to where Gerda stood, staring the skinny teenager up and down. The older woman looked at Gerda as well, and shook her head in disappointment. Gerda suddenly realized that the woman was willing to die for her cause, and that Gerda may have just put the whole village in danger.

"What did you say?" The Queen demanded, her white teeth gritted. "What did you say to me, peasant?"

Gerda swallowed hard, and as she faced the Queen, she realized something else. The Queen actually looked-worried? Perhaps, Gerda had given the Queen something to mull over. Not many had defied her, other than the runaway princess, Snow White. This seemed shocking to the Queen.

Forgetting the danger at hand and letting curiosity get the better of her, Gerda stared the Queen straight back in the face, defying the fear that the Queen tried to instill in her heart.

"I said, stop." Gerda stated. The Queen sneered in her direction, and putting out the fire in her hand, walked up to the teenager, slowly and deadly. But Gerda refused to let fear get the better of her. As the Queen stood right up to Gerda's chest, Gerda could feel the impact of dark magic that tried to impale Gerda's heart. But she refused to budge.

"Well well dear, looks like we have a brave child." The Queen sneered. She backed away from Gerda, and looking back, she stood tall. "Bow down girl, and I may forgive you of your wrongdoings. May." The Queen stated.

All the towns people stared at Gerda expectantly. But Gerda was set not to move, until she saw her father in the distance, staring longingly at his daughter. If the Queen knew he was there…..

As if reading her thoughts, The Queen looked behind her back, and saw Gerda's father in the distance. Smiling, she looked back at Gerda. "Well, looks like our little "hero" has a father to protect." Snapping her fingers, Gerda's father appeared in a puff of smoke beside the Queen, binded by ropes.

The Queen stroked the man's beard, and smiling, looked back to Gerda.

"If you want to protect daddy here, do as I say, and bow down. Or else." The Queen stated.

Gerda looked to her father, who looked solemn. What was she to do? She lowered her head, and staring at the ground, she silently prayed. Looking back up, she stared the Queen straight in the face, and shook her head.

"No. I will not bow down." Gerda answered. "But you will not hurt my father, either." Before her father could object, Gerda pulled the glove off her right hand, and raising her hand out to the Queen, she let her magic go.

The Queen fell backward by the power, as well as her guards. Then chaos happened, as the towns folk ran around like crazy. But before Gerda could reach her father, The Evil Queen rose from the ground, and stood to face Gerda.

"Guards, seize the girl!" She screamed, pointing at Gerda. But Gerda's father reacted first and raising himself from the ground, he threw himself at the Queen. He wanted to buy Gerda some time.

"Go!" He yelled at his daughter. "Run!" Wiping tears from her eyes, Gerda did what her father said, and ran into the woods.


	2. Daddy Issues

Once Upon a Time Fanfiction

Family Reunion

Chapter One: Letting Go

 _Into the Enchanted Forest_

Rushing through the pine trees, Gerda tried to catch her breath. But the Queen's knights were reaching her village, and she needed to inform her father. She puffed through her nose and ran all the harder. Reaching her village minutes later, she ran by the bakery, and straight to the main court house.

"Mayor Gardbor!" Gerda called out, trying to catch her breath. "The Queen is on her way here!" Gerda shouted, trying to catch anyone's attention.

The round bellied mayor looked up at Gerda from his desk, and nodded. "Get to your father. We will stall the Queen." He replied to the girl.

Gerda understood, and ran out the door, heading straight for the hill, where her and her father's small house stood. Not bothering to knock, she entered the wooden building, and closed the door.

"Father? Father! The Queen is on her way!" Gerda shouted. She need not have, as her father was sitting at the table, most likely thinking about Gerda's late mother. He looked up at his daughter, panic across his face.

"How long do we have?" He questioned, rising from his chair to grab his cloak. He also grabbed one for his daughter. As he got closer to Gerda, he looked into his daughter's blues eyes, which were placed behind her spectacles.

"I don't know, perhaps three minutes." Gerda guessed, shrugging. "All I know is that the mayor wants us to get to the forest."

Her father nodded, and together they went to the door. As they rushed down to the village, Gerda noticed all the village folk lining up on either side of the main road, awaiting the royal carriage. All except one older woman, who was having a hard time trying to rise off the ground.

Without thinking, Gerda directed her path towards the woman, ignoring her father's warnings. "Gerda! Come, we need to go."

And he was right, as he noticed the Queen's carriage arriving. It was too late for Gerda to get to the woods. She yelled for her father to go ahead, and swallowed deeply as she helped to raise the woman off the ground. Hearing the carriage stop behind her, she hurried to help the woman up.

"Away from the elder." A man's voice demanded, pulling Gerda away from the woman. The woman was very close to being raised from the ground, but without Gerda's help she fell again. The knight pushed Gerda to the other side of the road, placing her among other youth.

As the towns people watched helplessly as the older woman tried to stand, the Evil Queen came out of her carriage, wearing a seductive black dress and cloak. Her hair was in a side ponytail, with her dark hair reached her hip, and her lips were as red as blood. It reminded Gerda of when she had bitten her lip, and the colour of red that dripped onto the ground.

The Queen stopped in front of the older woman, smiling cruelly. "Well well dear, we seem to be having some difficulty here." She stated, smiling. "You need to rise, old woman. And bow to your Queen."

However, the old woman would not bow. Instead, surprising all the towns folk including Gerda, the old woman looked up into the Queen's face, and smiled.

"If I am not able to bow down to true royalty, then I would rather not bow at all." The woman stated.

The Queen looked down at the woman, angry. "Then you may die, and bow down to the king in the next life." Raising her hand, fire appeared, which Gerda had recognized immediately as dark magic. Her father had been teaching Gerda all about magic, because of her strange gift.

Before the Queen could strike, Gerda reached out her hand. "Stop!" She yelled. Big mistake. The Queen turned to where Gerda stood, staring the skinny teenager up and down. The older woman looked at Gerda as well, and shook her head in disappointment. Gerda suddenly realized that the woman was willing to die for her cause, and that Gerda may have just put the whole village in danger.

"What did you say?" The Queen demanded, her white teeth gritted. "What did you say to me, peasant?"

Gerda swallowed hard, and as she faced the Queen, she realized something else. The Queen actually looked-worried? Perhaps, Gerda had given the Queen something to mull over. Not many had defied her, other than the runaway princess, Snow White. This seemed shocking to the Queen.

Forgetting the danger at hand and letting curiosity get the better of her, Gerda stared the Queen straight back in the face, defying the fear that the Queen tried to instill in her heart.

"I said, stop." Gerda stated. The Queen sneered in her direction, and putting out the fire in her hand, walked up to the teenager, slowly and deadly. But Gerda refused to let fear get the better of her. As the Queen stood right up to Gerda's chest, Gerda could feel the impact of dark magic that tried to impale Gerda's heart. But she refused to budge.

"Well well dear, looks like we have a brave child." The Queen sneered. She backed away from Gerda, and looking back, she stood tall. "Bow down girl, and I may forgive you of your wrongdoings. May." The Queen stated.

All the towns people stared at Gerda expectantly. But Gerda was set not to move, until she saw her father in the distance, staring longingly at his daughter. If the Queen knew he was there…..

As if reading her thoughts, The Queen looked behind her back, and saw Gerda's father in the distance. Smiling, she looked back at Gerda. "Well, looks like our little "hero" has a father to protect." Snapping her fingers, Gerda's father appeared in a puff of smoke beside the Queen, binded by ropes.

The Queen stroked the man's beard, and smiling, looked back to Gerda.

"If you want to protect daddy here, do as I say, and bow down. Or else." The Queen stated.

Gerda looked to her father, who looked solemn. What was she to do? She lowered her head, and staring at the ground, she silently prayed. Looking back up, she stared the Queen straight in the face, and shook her head.

"No. I will not bow down." Gerda answered. "But you will not hurt my father, either." Before her father could object, Gerda pulled the glove off her right hand, and raising her hand out to the Queen, she let her magic go.

The Queen fell backward by the power, as well as her guards. Then chaos happened, as the towns folk ran around like crazy. But before Gerda could reach her father, The Evil Queen rose from the ground, and stood to face Gerda.

"Guards, seize the girl!" She screamed, pointing at Gerda. But Gerda's father reacted first and raising himself from the ground, he threw himself at the Queen. He wanted to buy Gerda some time.

"Go!" He yelled at his daughter. "Run!" Wiping tears from her eyes, Gerda did what her father said, and ran into the woods.

Chapter Two: Daddy Issues

As Henry stepped off the school bus, he sighed mournfully. Emma was evil, Regina was trying to deal with Zelena's unborn child, and his grandparents were always out of the house, at the library pouring over books, trying to see if there was any way to save their daughter.

Meanwhile, Henry was forced to go to school every day, where all the other kids stared at him because of his mothers' reputations. All accept his friend. His only friend. Looking behind him, he smiled. Gerda was two years older than him, but they got along well enough.

"Ready to work on our project, Henry?" Gerda asked. They had been partnered up in science class to finish a class assignment that Mary Margaret had left for them.

As they walked towards Regina's house, Gerda nudged Henry nervously. "Are you sure we should work at your house? What if your mom doesn't like me?"

Henry waved away her worry. "Relax Gerda. My mom isn't the Evil Queen anymore. She is much more friendly now." As they reached the house, Henry knocked on the door. He wanted to surprise his mom this time. She wasn't expecting him.

Regina came to the door quickly and a huge smile played across her lips at the sight of her son. "Henry, what a surprise!" She stated, giving him a quick hug and kiss. Her eyes then turned to Gerda, who was standing behind Henry awkwardly. She didn't want to intrude on their reunion.

Henry backed from his mom, allowing more room for the two woman. "Mom, this is my friend, Gerda. She is my partner for the science project that Grandma has left us, while she is, you know…." He quickly cut himself off, and stared at the marble porch which he was standing on.

Gerda swallowed hard. Did the Queen, Regina, remember all the on goings of the Enchanted Forest? Did she remember who Gerda was? What if Gerda was putting herself in terrible danger? When Gerda had first met Henry, she just thought he was a lonely boy who needed somebody to talk to. She didn't think that there would ever be such a bond of friendship struck between them. But when Henry told Gerda about who his mom was, she became nervous. Unlike all of the other kids, however, Gerda did not push him away. Instead, she became even closer to the boy, which could lead to her downfall. Was this a bad idea?

As Gerda waited to see the mayor's reaction, relief and a feeling of anxiety spread through Gerda's body as Regina merely stuck out her hand to her. "Very nice to meet you, Gerda." Regina stated, smiling. She really was quite pretty, as Gerda had remembered her in the forest. However, Gerda could still not forget their encounters, even though the Queen could. She just had to play it out smoothly, and next time she and Henry worked on a project, she would recommend they work at the library.

Mary Margaret Blanchard paced through the library, reading an old book on the uses of Dark Magic. She had been pouring over the book all day, and could feel drowsiness sweep over her. If only her heart would allow her to rest.

But as she thought of her only daughter, the Saviour, sacrificing her life to the darkness to save Regina, Mary Margaret shook away the thought of sleeping, and continued to read. There had to be something, anything, which could help her and David save their daughter. Anything.

Meanwhile, as Mary Margaret paced and read, David Nolan sat at a table, looking over maps of the different realms that were known to the people of Storybrooke. There was Neverland, which brought back painful memories of longing for the safety of Henry. The Enchanted Forest, which all of them knew very well. Arendelle, which was the home of David's good friends, Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, and Sir Kristoff. Oh, and Oz, David added mentally, putting it on his list and pulling out its map. The home of Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West.

As David looked at the maps, he decided to tally off all the places that bore dark magic, and who the dark magic was from. He merely wanted an idea of who had dark magic, and how it was used. That way, he could have a better understanding of it.

Just as he was writing down Cora Miller's name, he could hear Mary Margaret call for him. "David, come here."

David rose from his seat, and walked to where Mary Margaret stood. She was now looking at another book amidst the many in the town library. It was about the history of the Dark One's Dagger. Mary Margaret handed the book to David, and looked at her watch.

"Oh man, I'm late." She stated. When David looked at his wife confused, she went on to explain. "I told Henry and Gerda that I would help them with their science project today." She told her husband, as she threw on a scarf.

David put down the book, curious, for once, about anything else other than Emma. "Gerda? Do we know her?" He asked. "I feel like I have heard her name before."

Mary Margaret shook away her husband's questions. "She is just a friend of Henry's, David. Nothing big. She must have just been one of the villagers in the Enchanted Forest." And with that, she headed out the front door, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

Gerda and Henry sat at the kitchen table, with Henry pouring over a science textbook while Gerda searched for more information on her laptop. Two empty plates with crumbs from sandwiches sat on the table, along with two glasses of milk.

"Hey Henry, I think I found some interesting information for our topic." Gerda stated, chewing on her pencil. "It should at least help us explain more about the bird process of birds." Henry nodded, smiling. He never said it out loud, but he was so happy to have Gerda as his friend.

For weeks, Henry sat at school by himself while others laughed and stared at him. Everyone did, except Gerda. She was an outsider as well, for reasons Henry didn't know. Gerda just came up to him one day, and sat down beside him, without even saying a word.

And that's how it all started. Soon, Gerda and Henry started hanging out after school, and chatted all about the Enchanted Forest. Gerda did in fact grow up in the Forest, and told Henry all about the adventures she had. Meanwhile, Gerda loved to hear how Henry convinced Emma that she was the Saviour. They told each other stories, and how they would rule the kingdom if they were king or queen.

All in all, they were the best of friends. And nothing was going to change that.

As Gerda showed Henry the new information on bird birth, Mary Margaret entered through the front door without even knocking. She knew Regina would be at work, and that Henry could care less whether she knocked or not. Besides, she was his grandmother.

"Henry, Gerda! I am here to help with your assignment!" Mary Margaret called out, walking into the kitchen. She saw the two students sitting at the table, and as she smiled at Gerda, all she could think of was what David asked about the girl. _Gerda? Do we know her? I feel like I have heard her name before._

Now that Mary Margaret thought about it, she started to realize that she had heard the name as well. But instead of asking Gerda about who she was in the Enchanted Forest, she shook the thoughts out of her head.

After a few hours at work, Gerda told Henry that she had to get home. "Is your mom or dad coming to pick you up?" Henry asked, closing his science textbook. Gerda clutched at her arm awkwardly, looking at the ground.

"Well, no. My dad is out of town, and my mom….." Gerda started, but stopped. Henry understood. Like him, Gerda had been raised without her mother. At least Henry had a mother, whereas Gerda only had her dad. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Gerda, I am really sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." Henry apologized, feeling bad for what he had said. If he knew that Gerda had no mom, he would have said nothing at all. But then, something else hit him.

"Hey, Gerda, who is your dad? And how long has he been gone?" Henry prodded, feeling comfortable enough to ask about her father. At least he was alive. Gerda shrugged. "He, uh, works in the forest a lot, and cuts wood for fire. And he has been gone for a few weeks."

Mary Margaret choked on her cup of water. "A few weeks?! Gerda, you are sixteen years old! You should not be on your own." Outraged, Mary Margaret rose and grabbed hold of Gerda's right arm. "We are going to your house and you are going to pack your things. You are going to stay with David and me until your father gets back!"

Before Gerda could say anything, Mary Margaret was dragging her out the door. Henry didn't even get to say goodbye. Sometimes, his grandmother could only think of her own feelings.

Suddenly, he got a text on his phone. Picking it up, he saw that the text was from Belle, who was running Mr. Gold's, Rumpelstiltskin's shop, until he awoke from his coma. After having all his dark magic taken from him, he fell into a deep sleep.

Reading over the text, Henry's eyes went wide. "Uh-oh." He stated.


	3. The Magic Increase

Chapter Three: The Magic Increase

Henry had thrown on a jacket and grabbed his cellphone, texting his mom quickly to let her know that he was with Belle. He then ran over to his grandfather's pawn shop to check in on Belle.

Opening the door, he heard the little chime bell ring against the door. "Belle?" Henry called out. "Is everything alright?"

Not hearing an answer, Henry welcomed himself into the store. Looking around, he checked at the counter, he couldn't see Belle anywhere. He decided to push the boundaries and enter the back of the store, where his grandfather, Rumpelstiltskin, hide many magical objects from all the people of Storybook when they had been cursed to his world.

Speaking of his grandfather, Henry saw him lying unconscious on the bed at the side of the room, his jacket pulled off and his outfit different from when Henry saw him last. Instead of being in his usual outfit of a tie and white shirt, he was in striped blue pajamas, with part of his torso covered in a blanket.

He had been like this for two weeks, and Henry, surprisingly, missed him a lot, no matter all of the bad things he had done to Henry and his parents.

"Belle!" Henry called out again. And that's when he felt the hand on his shoulder.

"Mary Margaret, I told you, I am fine on my own!" Gerda argued, as Mary Margaret started throwing random clothes of Gerda's into two large suitcases. Without even asking, Mary Margaret dragged Gerda out to the edge of town where she lived with her father, and demanded that Gerda start to pack. When she refused, Mary Margaret got to work herself.

But Mary Margaret would never listen. Instead, she merely ignored Gerda, and continued to pack. Only a few minutes later did Mary Margaret looked at Gerda, anger across her face. "What are you mad at me for?" Gerda questioned, backing off a bit. She was worried her own teacher might lash out at her.

Placing her hands on her hips, Mary Margaret continued to glare at her student. One of her best, she would add, if she wasn't so mad.

"Because, you didn't tell me that you were on your own, Gerda. You are sixteen years old, and your father shouldn't have left you to be by yourself for this long. I mean, do you have a stable job to buy food? Do you get scared at night, knowing your dad isn't there to protect you?" Mary Margaret questioned. When Gerda didn't answer, Mary Margaret rolled her eyes, and turned back to her packing.

"See, you need an adult around, Gerda. And David and I are more than capable of taking care of a child…"

Gerda rolled her eyes, and stalked out of her room, looking at her phone. She wanted so badly to tell Mary Margaret the truth about her father, but she knew that if she even mentioned it to one person, someone might relate her situation to a certain situation of her past….

Shaking away her worry, she decided to keep her current predicament to herself, and allowed her wall of shaking away help to melt away. Because really, her teacher was only trying to help. And, Gerda was getting kind of lonely. If only her dad were with her.

Looking at an old photo of her and her father from when she was younger, Gerda could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Then she saw the time. "Oh crap." Gerda stated, checking her watch just to match it to her phone. The time matched, alright. She needed to get going. She had to get away from Mary Margaret.

Looking behind her, she could hear her teacher humming to herself. She didn't want to worry her any more than she already had. So, knowing regret would eat at her later, Gerda decided to lie to her favourite teacher. But it was necessary.

"Mary Margaret, I am getting pretty tired, and I have some more homework I need to finish. Could I meet you at your place?" Gerda asked. Well, it was only partly a lie. Gerda was, as a matter of fact, extremely tired, but because she was so stressed out lately. And she did have homework she needed to finish, but only checking over a report she was writing for her English class. But she was lying about the part of going to Mary Margaret's house.

When Mary Margaret gave her a thumbs up while she continued to hum, Gerda smiled slyly. Turning around to face the stairs, she descended quickly, and as she walked out the front door on her way to the woods, she could feel guilt in the pit of her stomach.

"Belle! Don't scare me like that!" Henry stated, removing her hand from his shoulder. Why Belle decided to sneak up on Henry, he had no idea. "Why all the secrecy? Couldn't you just tell me on the phone?" Henry asked.

Belle shook her head. "What if your mom overheard? I knew she would be worried if she found out. And you were the only person I could think of that I should tell this new development to. Since, you know, you are the Author." Belle stated, smiling slightly.

Henry nodded in agreement. Ever since Isaac had sent all of Henry's family back to the Enchanted Forest in a twisted fairy tale, Henry had been chosen as the next Author. It was his job to make sure that all the stories went according to the book he was given, which he had in his backpack.

"Well, fair enough. So, what is the problem?" Henry asked, leaning against a nearby table.

Sighing nervously, Belle put her hands together. "There has been a magic increase." Belle stated, squinting her eyes at Henry to see his reaction.

Henry took all the information in. A magic increase? By who? Had his mom increased in power? Did Zelena, his wicked aunt, regain her power? Or maybe…..

Henry asked the question that was on Belle's mind. "Did Emma come back?" It was a mystery where Emma had gone when she sacrificed her life to the darkness of the Dark One. No one could explain where she had gone. Maybe she had returned.

Part of Henry was really excited at the idea of seeing his mom again, but when he thought about it a little more, he started to realize that he would be really scared of who Emma would become with the darkness inside her.

Belle shrugged and crossed her arms protectively, as if scared something would attack her. "I don't know, Henry. All I know is that for the past week, the magic surge we have been watching has gone up. But I cannot tell if it is light or dark magic." Belle explained.

Ever since Emma had disappeared, Belle and Henry had set up a system using Regina's magic to see if there were any sparks of magic within StoryBrooke. So far, there wasn't a lot of activity, but maybe something big was about to happen. Henry was hoping so. Maybe it would be a development of where Emma was. Fingers crossed.

"Well, is there anything we can do?" Henry asked. He needed to do something. Becoming the next Author had given him a sense of purpose. His mom was the Saviour, his grandparents the biggest heroes around, and even his adopted mother was the Evil Queen. They all had something to live for. Now he did as well. And this was a situation an Author should handle.

And ever since the Apprentice had passed away, Henry had done everything he could to make sure all stories stayed on the right path. He would even stay up late into the night to re-read the stories in his book to make sure he knew them by heart. So far, he was two thirds through the book, and he had some more stories to go.

Belle pondered Henry's questioned, and snapped her fingers at an idea. "I think I know what we can do." Belle said. "But you will need to talk to someone you don't exactly like." Going behind a nearby counter, Belle pulled out a notebook, and starting writing down names.

"You need to go to all the people who have ever used magic and scan them." Belle stated. When she saw Henry's confused expression, she explained. "Rumpelstiltskin has used a device to track magic throughout our land. When he found out a source of magic, he would go to it."

Belle then reached down into the counter and pulled out a little box, and opening it, Henry saw….

"A wand?" Henry asked, snickering. "Like the one Mickey Mouse had used in his old cartoons?"

When Belle looked at him awkwardly, Henry's expression turned serious. "Nevermind."

Shaking her head, Belle continued. "Anyway, your job is to go up to everyone who has ever used magic and see what the wand does. If it starts to glow orange, it means that their magic level is normal. However, if the wand glows blue, it means there has been a spike in magic caused by them."

As Henry grabbed for the wand, Belle cleared her throat. "However, you need to make sure that no one knows you have the wand." Belle stated. Henry questioned why.

"Because if people see the wand, it has been stated that their worst self comes out." Belle explained. "So it must be concealed. At all times." With that said, Belle handed the wand to Henry, as well as the notepad.

"Also, write down all the names of everyone who has used magic. That way, we can keep track of who we have checked. Then, when you have gone up to everyone with magic, we can narrow down who could be the reason of the magic increase." Belle said, smiling. She loved being able to do something other than run her husband's store. She looked at his body, and sighed.

Grabbing the notebook and the wand, Henry swore to Belle that he wouldn't let anyone know about the wand. As he left the store, he decided to ask if his mom wanted to go out to dinner with Robin and Roland. Checking his phone, he got a text back from his mom, asking him to meet her at her office. Oh well, he may as well check if she was the reason for the magic increase.

If only he had looked behind him, because then he would notice the figure standing outside his grandfather's store.

Gerda ran hard as she weaved through all the trees in the forest. Breathing hard, she looked down at her watch. Seeing at how hard Mary Margaret was packing back at her place, Gerda thought she had twenty minutes before Mary Margaret would return home, which would take another thirty minutes. She had time, but not a lot.

Reaching the familiar clearing in the forest, Gerda took a minute to rest, and looked around. Her targets were still in place, and no one else was in sight. She smiled.

Sighing, she stood up straight and took in a deep breath. She looked down at her fingers, and spreading them apart, she breathed in lightly. Closing her eyes, she imagined her fingers filling up with the colour of blue magic. She imagined the tingly feeling she got when her power flowed through her veins.

Opening her eyes, she gasped. There was magic, alright. But way more than usual. Weird, Gerda thought. This had never happened before. Did it have anything to do with her birthday? She had turned sixteen the week before, but it wasn't a really big deal. Or maybe it was…

Putting her hands down, she saw the light diminish from her hands. Looking forward, she saw her target. A large circle her father had made for her when she was younger. It had a large red dot on it, and an even larger blue one.

Closing her eyes, Gerda imagined the same power flowing into her fingers, and raising her hand, she imagined hitting the target. She heard a bang. Opening the eyes, she gasped again. "Uh-oh." Gerda stated under her breath. She had hit the target, but a little too hard. A huge hole was still smoking within the target, which made Gerda look down at her hands. No signs of burns, or anything, which was good. But still.

Looking down at her hands and back at the target, Gerda swallowed hard. Her powers were growing stronger, which made her worried. What if she couldn't control them? What if someone found out? As all these questions swam in her head, Gerda closed her eyes and clasped her hands to her ears. She felt anger and fear towards all these questions, and all she could think about was her father.

"Where are you?!" Gerda yelled. "Why aren't you here with me?" Dad!" Gerda fell to the forest floor, crying hard. She missed her dad a lot. But she couldn't tell anyone where he was, because she didn't know. If only she knew….

After her tears had ceased, Gerda looked around her, and fell on her back in fear. All around her, the trees had black marks on them, in the shape of lightning bolts. How did that happen? Trembling, Gerda looked down at her hands. There were no burn marks, but she could see the faint glow of magic on her fingers. She had burned the trees. She did that.

"Uh-oh." She stated.


	4. Where's the Broomstick

Chapter Four: Where's The Broomstick?

"So Henry, how is your project coming?" Mayor Regina asked, looking curiously at her son. She could tell he was hiding something, but she didn't want to be snoopy. She had learned over the years to leave Henry alone to do his own thing.

Henry smiled up at his mother, drinking some hot chocolate he had picked up at Granny's. It was topped off with cinnamon. "It's all done. And a week earlier than needed. Gerda and I work fast together. Grandma said we would each get an A+ on it." He beamed.

Regina smiled, holding her laugh in. It sounded really weird hearing his son call his teacher 'grandma'. But she said nothing, other than a congratulations. She was so proud of her only son. She told her on that she just had to finish filing some papers, and that he could play on his phone.

So Henry sat at the table, but instead of playing with his phone, he held the wand aloft under the desk, just waiting for the right moment to pull it out. The time came a moment later when Regina rose from her desk and turned to face her filing cabinet.

Now was the time, Henry thought. He pulled up the wand quickly, and stared at it. Thinking it was warming up, he shook it slightly, which made it give a slight sound. Regina turned around quickly to the sound, but when she saw Henry's facing the ground, she assumed it was a game on his phone.

But Henry was looking at the wand, which was starting to glow. When it started turning orange, he breathed a sigh of relief. But as he crossed his mother's name off the list, the wand started to glow a light blue. Light blue, what does that mean?

Henry looked up worriedly, and asked his mom if they could have dinner at Granny's. When his mom said yes, he told her he would meet her at the restaurant, when he planned on going to the pawn shop for information.

He literally jumped out of his seat and ran for the door.

"What do you mean, she isn't here?" Mary Margaret asked David. In the tone of voice Mary Margaret was using, all David could think about was their time in the twisted fairy tale Isaac had made. His wife had sounded like the evil queen, Snow White. He shook his head to get rid of the thought.

"Look, I didn't even know we were expecting Gerda!" David defended, standing up. "It would have been helpful if you had told me she was coming." He said calmly, not wanting to get into a fight. That was the last thing they needed.

Mary Margaret put down the two suitcases she had brought, and paced the ground, looking at her phone. "Gerda hasn't even called or texted me. Where could she be? She said she was coming here…"

And that's when it hit her. Looking at her husband, Mary Margaret looked stricken. "She lied to me, David." She said. "She lied because she was mad. What if she ran away? How was I stupid enough to let her wander off on her own?!" Enraged, Mary Margaret kicked one of the suitcases, and fell into a chair.

Looking up at her husband, she could feel tears in her eyes. "What if we never see her again?" She asked, putting her face in her hands.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." Looking up at the door, Mary Margaret saw Gerda standing there, her bag wet from the down pour of rain, her jacket soaked. But her smile was still as bright as ever. Too bad Mary Margaret didn't know it was fake.

"Gerda!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, pushing her husband away and making a beeline for the door. She pulled Gerda into such a tight embrace that the girl could hardly breathe. Then, when she had finished crying tears of joy, she pushed Gerda back, and began her tantrum. "Why did you lie me? Where were you? Why didn't you come straight home?"

Gerda looked at Mary Margaret seriously. "Because this isn't my home." With that, Gerda headed for the stairs and up to the bedroom she would be sleeping in for who knew how long.

When Gerda was out of ear shot, Mary Margaret looked mournfully at her husband. "I don't know if this is a good idea, hon." David stated, before Mary Margaret could say anything. "I mean, Gerda isn't our daughter, and we hardly know anything about her."

Mary Margaret thought it over. "I know she isn't our daughter, but how can we leave her alone without someone to guide her? Besides, I think she has been stressed out lately." Sighing heavily, Mary Margaret decided to leave Gerda alone, and started to get supper ready.

"What do you mean, it went light blue?" Belle demanded, grabbing the wand from Henry. He rushed over to the store the moment he got out of his mother's office. He didn't know what had happened, and he was really worried that his mom was up to something.

"Is that bad? Is my mom the cause for the increase in magic?" Henry asked, his voice strained. He was starting to panic. What if his mom was starting to turn back to her evil ways?

Belle shook her head. "No Henry, light blue doesn't mean that Regina is the reason for the increase." As Henry breathed a sigh of relief, he could see Belle's worried expression. "Well, then what does light blue mean?" He asked.

Belle laughed a little. "Well, this may sound really odd, but Regina is related to the person who is causing the magic increase." When Henry looked confused, Belle explained in further detail. "You see, if the wand went dark blue, it means, according to Rumple, that the person you are pointing the wand at is causing the magic increase. If orange, it means they are not. But there is another colour, and I wasn't expecting it. Light blue means that whoever you are pointing the wand at is in blood relation to the person who is causing the magical increase."

Henry stared at Belle, in awe, then looked at the wand, thinking. "So, if mom is related to the person who is causing all this trouble, that means…."

Belle finished Henry's sentence for him. "Zelena has got her magic back." She stated gravely. At the same time, both looked down at the wand, which was now glowing orange, because Rumpelstiltskin was in the room. He wasn't behind the trouble.

"So, I need to get to Zelena, and do what?" Henry asked, confused. Belle hadn't exactly explained to him how they were going to deal with the magical increase. They just decided to figure out who was the culprit.

"Well, we need to figure out how she got magic, first." Belle said, pushing away Henry's worries. They would think about how to deal with the magic later. Right now, they needed to deal with Zelena. But how? It wasn't as if they could just waltz up to her and ask for her magic. They needed to be subtle, so that Zelena wouldn't find out what was going on.

"So, how should we do it?" Belle asked Henry, curious for what he had to say. It was too bad Henry had no good ideas. He was weary of going up to talk to his aunt, who had tried to kill him and was currently making his mother's life miserable. This meeting wasn't going to go well.

Placing his hands over his head, Henry closed his eyes. Maybe Zelena got her pendant back? Oh well, it was a start. Opening his eyes, he looked to Belle, realizing that she had been staring at him the whole time. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Henry explained his idea. "What if Zelena got her pendant back?" He asked, wondering what Belle would think.

She pondered his question lightly, and nodded. "Well, it's a shot. We better go and get this over with." She stated, grabbing her coat. Henry agreed, and followed her out the door. As Belle locked up the shop, Henry wondered how he would explain his absence at dinner to his mom. Shaking his head, he decided he would figure that out later. "Well, at least she doesn't have her broom." Henry said cheerfully.

The hospital was quite at night. This was the first thing Henry noticed when he and Belle entered what he considered the "crazy ward." As he and Belle walked down the ward looking for Zelena's room, Henry couldn't help but feel sick. He hated Zelena, and couldn't deny that feeling. She had ruined his mother's life, and killed his father. She kidnapped his uncle the moment he was born, and tried to use him for a wicked spell.

Thankfully, his moms had defeated her, and stolen away her power. Until now, at least. So, he and Belle had to do something, and since he was the Author, he felt responsible for Zelena. He felt responsible for all the evil villains. But one person he didn't feel responsible for was Isaac, who was being held in another part of the ward. He was alright with not seeing the previous author. At least, not right now.

Stopping further down the hall, Henry and Belle opened one of the ward room doors to see Zelena sitting in the corner, reading a book.

If you hadn't known her, you wouldn't be able to tell how horrible Zelena actually was. Wicked to the core, she didn't exactly look evil. But then again, neither had Regina, and Henry could remember all the trouble she had caused.

Zelena looked up the moment the door opened, and smiled wickedly. "Well hello nephew. How's mommy dearest doing?" She asked, rubbing her swollen belly. Henry didn't know how long it would be until her baby was born, but Henry knew he could wait.

"Never mind about my mom." Henry spat, not caring how insincere he sounded. He didn't like Zelena, and most likely never would. "We came to ask you about your magic usage." He could hear Belle begin to tell Henry to back off, but he didn't listen. He needed to figure out where the magic was coming from.

"What on earth are you taking about, deary?" Zelena asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side. Henry could feel the sickness in his stomach growing. If his mom knew where he was…..

Belle interceded, pushing Henry behind her. "Have you been using any magic lately, Zelena?" Belle questioned, holding her arm out to keep Henry back. She was scared that if Zelena did have her magic, she would attempt to kill Henry again.

Zelena looked at her nephew and Belle awkwardly, now full of curiosity. "I am afraid that all my magic has been taken away by your wretched mother." Zelena stated, glaring at Henry. He balled his hands into fists. "And why do you wonder now if I have magic? You saw me and my pathetic sister fight, and you saw how my magic was taken away."

Before Belle continued, Henry came back into the limelight. "We don't have to tell you why. We just need to know, for the safety of Storybrooke, if you have been using magic." And suddenly, it hit him.

"Where's your broomstick?" Henry demanded of his aunt. "Where is it?"

Zelena looked taken aback, as if Henry had solved her plot. But then, her look turned into a wicked grin. "I'm afraid I haven't seen it for months, dear. And before you ask, no, I don't have my pendant either. So any use of magic would be, how you say, forbidden, to me." Zelena stated.

Henry's stomach dropped. Without bothering to say goodbye, he left Zelena's cell. Belle looked at the door, and could hear Zelena behind him. "Well, he certainly has the manners of his mother."

Belle caught up with Henry moments later, seeing that he was deep in concentration. "Henry! Henry, what's the matter?" She asked, grabbing him by the arm and turning him around.

Henry looked up to Belle, and shook his head. "Belle, if my mom is related to the person using magic, and it isn't Zelena, then we have a problem." He stated. "There is someone else in Storybrooke related to the Evil Queen."


	5. Into the Woods

Chapter Five: Into the Woods

As Gerda ran farther and farther into the depths of the forest, she could feel her heart race. The knights were no longer following her, and she was now truly, all alone.

Pausing for a moment, Gerda looked all around her. She didn't recognize this patch of woods. She had run farther than she thought. Clutching the stitch in her side, she sat down on a nearby rock, and let the tears fall down. Now she had done it. If she had only gone into the woods like her father had told her to. Now, because of her, Gerda's father was captured and being held hostage by the Evil Queen, her village was now a target, and she was on the run. Could this day get any worse?

Apparently so, because after raising her head to look around her, she almost screamed. All around her, the trees had burned black marks on them. Curious and frightened, Gerda looked down into her hands, and saw the faint glow of magic still there. She had caused this to happen.

"Why me!?" She cried out, banging her fists against the ground. She fell to the forest floor in a heap, and cried. "Why do I have to be like this? Why couldn't it be someone else?" All these questions flowed through Gerda's mind, and the next thing she knew, she had fallen asleep.

"Now we have her." A single voice jerked Gerda awake. Opening her eyes, she gasped. She was on a cart, in a cage. All around her were knights, but not the noble King Leopold's knights. No, these were the knights of the Evil Queen. Gerda had been caught.

Trying to rise, she felt the chains against her legs, which bound their way up her arms. She collapsed. "Let me out!" She demanded, kicking against the cage. No use. She was trapped. The knights laughed at her struggle.

"No way, kid. You've caused us enough trouble as it is. We've been searching for weeks trying to locate you." One of the guards explained, glaring at Gerda under his helmet. Weeks? How long had Gerda been asleep? Wait a minute…..

"How many weeks have you been searching?" Gerda questioned, grabbing onto the bars of the cage.

Most of the guards ignored her, but one small one answered her. "Two weeks, Kid. Now I would stay quiet if I were you." He said gruffly.

Two weeks. Gerda's father had told her about a special day that was in two weeks the last time she remembered. She didn't know what was so important about the day, but she decided that she had nothing to lose. Taking his long since forgotten advice, she yelled out the date.

"Shut up!" A nearby guard yelled, hitting Gerda's cheek hard. She fell back in the cage, hitting her head against the bars. Feeling dizzy, she tried to sit up, only to hear a scream. Then a voice.

"Feeling a bit dizzy, deary? Don't worry, it'll pass."

Too weak to sit up, Gerda's body fell into a heap, and she knew she was going to pass out. The last thing she saw was the knights being attacked by a strange red light. _Magic._ She could hear them scream as they were being killed, and then, all she saw was blackness.

 _"Daddy, I'm scared." She cried out, clinging to her father's jacket. "It will be alright." He assured his daughter. "The time will come when you will understand to cherish your gift, and not resent it. And he will help you. Do not be afraid, my dear Gerda."_

 _Gerda._

"Gerda!" Michael called out, awaking from his slumber. Rubbing the back of his head, he suddenly remembered the date. It was the date he had sealed in his memory for the longest time.

"She will be alright." He sighed, laughing so all could hear. "Gerda will be alright! And the Queen will be able to do nothing about it!"

"Silence!" The guard yelled out, about to hit Michael. But one of his comrades came to his side, and whispered something in his ear. Nodding, the guard looked back at Michael, a look of grim defeat on his face.

"The Queen has summoned me to her chamber." The guard declared, so all the prisoners would know. "You are wait here until I return." With that, he left, following the other knight. Michael took the opportunity to talk to the other prisoner beside him, a young man missing an eye. His name was Steven.

"How's your wound doing, Steve?" Michael asked, worried about the lad's health. He had been looking bleak for days.

"Alright, sir." Steve said, shifting his weight to his other arm. Michael moved closer to help him sit up, and Steve thanked him. "Has there been any word of your daughter?" The young man asked, scratching at his arm.

Michael shook his head. "No, but I have been waiting for this day for a long time." He smiled. But before he could explain, the guards came back, and opened the prison door. Pushing Steven aside, two guards came and grabbed Michael, one on each arm. Michael's brown haired bangs covered his vision.

"The Queen wants to speak to you, peasant." One of the guards stated. It wasn't the same one from before. Curiosity came over him as he was being led away. "What happened to the other guard?" He asked, and he could see that Steven was listening in as well.

The guard on his right shrugged. "The Queen lost track of your daughter." He started. Michael looked back to Steven, and smiled. Steven gave him a thumbs up.

The guard continued. "And in her anger killed him. You're probably next." He said sternly, with no emotion across his face. Michael swallowed loudly.

 _At least Gerda was safe._ He thought, as he was led away by the guards.

The Queen was angry, and when she was angry, no one was safe. For two weeks, her guards had been following a teenager, and they lost her?

"How can one skinny teenager with a little bit of magic escape my guards?" The Queen demanded of her magic mirror. She was wearing a seductive blue dress, with her hair down her back. She paced her chamber, awaiting her prisoner. Looking at the ground, she saw the body of her dead guard still lying there.

Shivering, she looked at her mirror. "Have you found the girl yet?" She demanded. The mirror shook his head. "I'm afraid that she has either escaped from your domain of land, or something quite powerful is covering her from your sight, Your Majesty." He explained.

The Queen shook in anger. "How would something cover her from our sights? Unless…"

Enraged, she let off some steam by letting out some magic. "He is involved in this somehow! But how has he gotten hold of the girl?"

Turning around and glaring at the mirror, she yelled: "Find her! I need to get a hold of her power! And get rid of that wicked oversized peasant."

"Who are you referring to, Your Majesty?" The Mirror asked.

Smiling at him wickedly, she explained. "Rumpelstiltskin."

A few moments later, the guards entered her chamber, towing Michael along. He struggled wildly, not wanting to be near the woman who tore his family apart.

The Queen sat in her chair, smiling seductively at the man's struggle. "No need to struggle dear. I will not hurt you, as long as you cooperate."

Standing up, the Queen walked towards Michael, and stroked his chin. "Your daughter has been causing me a lot of trouble, Mr.?" The Queen didn't actually know what this man's name was.

"My name is Michael." He stated, gritting his teeth.

"Well, Michael, your precious daughter, Gerda, has been causing me a ton of trouble, and I need to know where she is." The Queen explained.

"What do you want with her?" Michael demanded, struggling against the guards' grips. If he were free, his hands would be around the Queen's throat.

"My dear, I am afraid that is a secret." The Queen stated, smiling wickedly. "However, since you are the girl's father, I will allow you to know." Sitting down, the Queen began to explain. "As you know, Gerda seems to have the same gift I do: magic. And of course, I cannot have a mere child become more powerful than I am. That would send a bad moral to the people of my kingdom if they found out that their Queen was not the most powerful. Do you see where I am getting at?" The Queen asked, tilting her head slightly.

Michael laughed, a mirthless laugh, and glared at the Queen. "Are you telling me you want Gerda so that people don't rise against you?" Once Michael said it, he realized it was true. Gerda is the little light of hope that the Queen was not expecting.

"Exactly." The Queen said. "So, I need your help in getting Gerda." Standing up again, the Queen walked over to her window, and stared out into the forest. "Gerda is in there somewhere, my dear. And I need her back here."

Turning to her prisoner, the Queen crossed her arms over her chest. "You know where Gerda is. Somehow, you know. And you have planned this for a long time."

Coming closer, she threw her guards back and raising her hand, she raised Michael into the air.

"Just tell me, what does Rumpelstiltskin have to do with her? The Queen demanded.

Michael laughed. "My Queen, you should know best about his deals."


	6. The Dealmaker

Chapter Six: The Deal Maker

When Gerda awoke, all she could remember was the screams of the Queen's guards. She could still see their bodies hit the forest floor if she kept her eyes closed. So she opened them.

Upon opening them, she found herself no longer in the forest. Instead, she was in a beautifully decorated room, with lovely curtains and soft pillows. Raising her head slightly, she immediately felt pain, and rubbed the back of her head.

Deciding to risk the pain if she sat up, Gerda sat up on the bed, and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She was freezing. Looking to a nearby chair, she realized why. Someone had taken off her cloak, as well as her boots and sweater. She only had on a light shirt and pants.

As she pulled on her boots, the door to her temporary bedroom opened, and Gerda jolted upwards, defensive.

"Relax deary, I'm not here to hurt you." The man stated, waving his hand. The logs on the nearby hearth burst into flames, making the room warmer. Gerda didn't feel any more relaxed.

"Who are you?" She asked, standing up. But the moment she did, she cried out in pain, and fell back onto the bed. The man drew nearer, and waving his hand, he performed some sort of weird magic on her leg, making the pain disappear. She sighed relief, and looked up at the man.

"My name, Gerda, is Rumpelstiltskin, at your service." He gave a low bow, and stared up at Gerda.

Gerda, however, was taken aback. "How did you know my name?" She asked, confused. She hadn't remembered telling him her name.

"Ah ah, in good time, deary." Rumpelstiltskin stated, shaking his finger. "First things first, about your father."

Gerda sat up in her bed, staring the man down. "How do you know about my father? Is he safe? Is he dead?" She demanded, standing upright. She ignored any pain she had left, and glared at this man. She had heard of him before, but was still confused as to how he knew about her.

Chuckling annoyingly, Rumpelstiltskin sat in a nearby chair, and pressed his fingers to each other, looking Gerda up and down. "I must say, deary, you ask more questions than I would have expected. But of course, I must be a gracious host if you are going to help me."

Before Gerda could say anything else, the wizard waved his hand, and Gerda fell back into a chair. Clearing his throat, Rumpelstiltskin explained the girl's predicament.

"Let me explain your predicament deary." He started. "You see, when you and your father first came to the Enchanted Forest, he was very worried about your safety. I mean, I couldn't blame him, with the problem you would cause with your "gift"."

But before Gerda could defend herself, Rumpelstiltskin raised his hand to silence her, and continued. "So, he needed someone to help him. And that someone was me." He smiled, and did another annoying laugh.

"Came to me in the middle of the night, he did. He explained your power, and asked for my help. But, as you may know, all magic, comes with a price." Upon stating that little tidbit of information, he flourished his hand. Gerda didn't know why he did that, but she didn't question him. The last thing she wanted was to be insulting.

"And so, being very generous, I decided to help him. I couldn't help him financially of course, but I could help him protect you. At least until now." He stated, glaring at Gerda.

"What do you mean, until now?" Gerda questioned, trying to rise. However, she felt as if she had been glued to the chair, and gave in.

"You see deary, you messed up. You were supposed to go into the forest with your father, and come to me. But you decided to be "noble", and stand up against the Evil Queen." Rumpelstiltskin said, flourishing his hand yet again.

"And that cost you dearly. But of course, you came out uninjured. Because you needed to fulfill the deal. My deal." He stated, emphasizing the last sentence.

 _What did he mean, I was supposed to? Did he know what was going to happen to me?_

As if reading her thoughts, Rumpelstiltskin giggled. "You see deary, I have known about you for a long time. I have the power of Sight, which means I can see into your future. And I did. Because you are going to help me."

Gerda looked at him, and snickered. "What makes you think I am going to help you?" Gerda demanded.

"What have you done for me?" She asked. And using his words against him. "Because, as you know, all magic comes with a price."

"Find her! Bring her to me at once." The Queen demanded, pushing her guards out of her chamber. They didn't need her push, as they feared being any closer to her. Michael sat in a corner of the room, strapped to a chair with magical binding.

Looking to him, the Queen smiled. "Oh don't worry Michael dear. You will be reunited with your daughter soon enough."

With a mirthless laugh, she walked away from her prisoner, clutching something in her hand. It began to beat.

Rumpelstiltskin laughed at Gerda's intent to scare him. It didn't work. "Deary, you'll have to do better than that. You see, you owe me your life. And so does your father." Rumpelstiltskin explained crossing his legs.

"Your father knew the Queen would find out eventually about your magic, and he wanted to keep you safe for as long as he could. So he asked me for help. We agreed to a date where I would save you from the Queen's guards. He told you to yell out the date so I would know, because I told him to. I forget very easily." He said in such a way that made Gerda believe that he was being sarcastic.

"Anyway, your father and I made a deal. I would protect you and him for as long as I could, and in return, your father would let me train you in magic." With this, Rumpelstiltskin gave a slight giggle.

Gerda's mouth dropped open. "What?" She questioned.

"Oh yes dear, your father wants nothing but the best for his little girl. And I guess I am the best." He stated, not being the least bit humble. Gerda couldn't help but smirk.

"Why would my father do that?" Gerda leaned back in her chair. Did her father want Gerda to get rid of her powers? No wait, Rumpelstiltskin said he was to train her.

Yet again, as if he had read her thoughts, Rumpelstiltskin piped up. "You know, your father only wants the best for you, Gerda." He stated, sounding quite serious.

Mulling over her options, she sighed heavily, and looked at Rumpelstiltskin. "What do you want me to do?" She asked.

Rumpelstiltskin started to giggle.


	7. Wands Out

Chapter Seven: Wands Out

For the next week, Henry spent every spare moment within the library's four walls, searching up all the different family trees of Storybrooke. Especially his mother's. But all that was recorded was Cora and Henry as her parents, and then Regina.

"How could this be?" Belle questioned, searching in a book about wands. She was making sure that she had gotten the right colour for the wand. "Well, light blue definitely means that Regina is related to the person using magic. We just need to know who it is."

"I know." Henry said, frustrated. "I just don't know who else could be using magic."

Belle looked over at Henry, who was stooped over a book. "Henry, how's Gerda doing?" Belle asked, thinking of Gerda. She remembered Gerda with Henry looking for books for their science project.

"I don't know, actually." Henry admitted, feeling guilty. "I guess she's alright. She's been in the woods a lot lately, probably running."

Now that he thought about it, Gerda and Henry hadn't been talking at all lately. He hoped she wasn't mad at him. Uh oh….

"Gerda's birthday was a few days ago." Henry remembered. "I didn't get her anything. Oh man, Belle, what should I get her? I mean, she's my only friend."

Not bothering to listen to Belle's idea, Henry got to his feet and headed for the door, telling Belle he would call her later.

Robin stuck an arrow into the slit, and was ready to fire. "Robin!" Was shouted right as he shot, making him miss.

Looking behind him, Robin was surprised to see Henry. "Oh, hello Henry. Sorry, I was in the middle of shooting for deer." Robin stated, pointing to his bow as if to prove his point.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt." Henry stated, not actually sorry. "I just needed to ask a favour."

"Name it." Robin responded, placing his foot on a nearby stump to tie his boot.

Henry nodded. "Well you see, my friend Gerda is really into shooting, and I was kinda hoping-"

Robin held up his hand, interrupting Henry. "Did you say Gerda?" When Henry nodded, Robin laughed. "Gerda. That was my mother's name." Shaking his head, Robin continued Henry's sentence. "And you want me to get her a bow?"

When Henry nodded, Robin smiled. "Consider it done. Anything else I can do for you?" Henry said no, and Robin said goodbye.

But as Henry walked away from Robin Hood, he had an odd feeling about the wand, and pulling it out of his bag, he gasped.

"What do you mean it turned light blue again?" Belle demanded, grabbing the wand from Henry and looking it over again. "It can't have…"

"Look, if I could explain it, I would. Henry stated. "But I am just as confused as you are. All I know is that when I was leaving Robin, I decided to check the wand, and found it orange."

"But what if the wand was reacting to you, Henry?" Belle asked. This was a point she hadn't looked into. However, Henry merely sighed. "I already checked. The wand went orange. Whoever is using magic, they are related to both my mom and Robin."

Henry sighed. "Are you sure we can rely on this wand, Belle? I mean, look at it! It has been causing us nothing but trouble!"

Belle looked mournfully at Henry. She had a feeling that he was hoping the wand would be explaining Emma's use of magic, not this random person who no one knew.

Walking over to him, she patted his shoulder. "I know this is hard, Henry." She stated. "But we have to find out who this person is. This wand is the most reliable tool we have. Rumpelstiltskin knew someone who had used it for him before, and it worked wonders."

Well, that information made Henry feel a little better. He could trust Belle, and for right now, he would trust his grandfather, who was moved to the hospital that very morning for safety. Belle was out of the shop far too much for him to be safe.

Breathing in, Henry nodded. "Alright. So, the person we are looking for is related to my mom, and also Robin. I don't see how it could be Zelena, as she is only related to my mother, not Robin. Belle, do you have Robin's family tree?" Henry asked.

Belle mulled his question over in her head, and nodded. Going to a large book on one of the many library shelves, which was all about family history. Looking through the pages, Belle stopped at a certain page, and skimmed down its contents with her eyes.

"Henry, come take a look at this."

Henry came over to Belle's back, and looked over her shoulder. He was looking down at an old piece of parchment, with a family tree written down. He saw many names, but only two stood out: Gerda and Robin.

"Hey, Robin told me that his mom's name was Gerda. That must be his dad." Henry pointed at another name, but his gaze immediately landed on the name right below it. "Hey, I didn't know Robin had a sibling." Henry stated, thinking out loud.

Belle gasped, and looked closer at the name. But the parchment was told old and worn for Belle to be able to make anything out. "Sorry Henry, but I can't make out the name. I'll need magic, and that means we need to ask your mom for help."

Before Henry agreed with her, he remembered something. "Wait a minute! My friend Gerda, she can help! Her dad has some tools he uses to decode and look over old documents. Gerda said that he had repaired many of the books in this library, my mom had hired him before the curse was lifted."

Belle considered Henry's offer, and nodded. "Alright, you can go and ask Gerda for help. But do not tell her why we are searching. I don't want to worry her in any way." Belle warned, giving Henry a look.

Henry nodded, and smiled. He wanted Gerda to help. Hopefully she would be willing.

Gerda sat on her bed cross-legged, holding her hands out in front of her. Also sitting on her bed was a small book. Breathing rapidly, Gerda closed her eyes, and imagined the book being lifted into the air. Opening one eye carefully, she gasped happily. The book was in the air alright, and even as Gerda opened both of her eyes, the book remained in the air.

She laughed, for the first time in a while. She lifted her hand up and down, and the book rose and fell with the movements. She had a great time watching the book move around. But when she heard footsteps on the stairs, she became scared, and the book fell down onto the bed.

Acting like she had been reading the whole time, Gerda opened the book and laid down on her bed. Mary Margaret knocked on the door, and opened it. "Hey Gerda." She said, smiling. She was holding Neil in her arms, who was giggling happily.

"Hi." Gerda responded, as she closed her book. She could still remember how less than a month ago, Snow White had become the Evil Queen, as her whole world was turned upside down. Gerda mentally shook away the thought. That wasn't the woman that was standing in her doorway.

"Look Gerda." Mary Margaret started, but Gerda raised her hand, making her pause. "Mary Margaret, don't apologize. I'm not mad that you wanted me to stay with you. You and David were worried, and had good cause to be worried." Gerda smiled, hoping that Mary Margaret would understand.

Apparently she had, and Gerda was relieved that they weren't going to have a big heart-to-heart chat. Looking at her watch, she knew she needed to get to the forest for some practice. "Um, Mary Margaret, I have to get going. I need to go, uh, for a run!" Gerda stated abruptly, feeling a warm sweep of guilt come over her for lying. But she needed to get out of the house.

"Alright, that's fine." Mary Margaret said, smiling. "But dinner is in two hours, so don't be gone for long." Gerda nodded, and ran past her and down the stairs. About to say goodbye to David, she noticed he wasn't at the table, which meant that he was probably out.

Shrugging, she headed out the door, and ran down the stairs, jumping the last few. Once she got outside, she slowed down to a jogging pace, and headed towards the woods that surrounded Storybrooke. Arriving to her hideout about twenty minutes later, Gerda stopped, breathing slightly.

"Well, I wasn't expecting company."

Gerda turned around, surprised. Standing behind her was Robin Hood, holding his bow tightly in one hand, his arrows strapped to his back. Gerda had held her hands out in front of her defensively, but put them down.

"Sorry to startle you, miss?" Robin asked, smiling. Gerda shook her head, startled at his politeness, and blurted out her name. "Gerda." She said. "My name is Gerda."

Robin's smile still stayed on his face, but it was less than before. "Are you a friend of Henry Mills?" He asked. When Gerda nodded, Robin shook his head, laughing. "He was asking about you before. Wanted to get you a very nice birthday present, what for all the encouragement you've given him over the past few weeks."

Gerda could feel her cheeks grow warm. She had no idea Henry wanted to get her something so nice. And she didn't remember telling him when her birthday was, which was about a week back. Still, it was the thought that counted.

Suddenly remembering what she had originally come to the forest to do, Gerda cleared her throat. But before she even had to say anything, Robin smiled. "Let me guess: I interrupted your training?" He ventured. When Gerda nodded, he laughed. "Well, I am terribly sorry, Miss Gerda. I will go do some hunting in another patch of woods. Until we meet again." Giving her a slight bow, Robin wandered off.

"That was very sweet." Gerda thought aloud, but remembering the task at hand, she shook her head to concentrate.

Reaching out her hands in front of her, she breathed in deeply, and while her eyes were wide open, imagined a stick to be picked up off the ground. She jumped up with excitement when one of the many sticks did, and as she made it spin and flip around in the air, she started to think of all the other things she could do with magic. All she needed to do was control it.

That's when the stick fell. Gerda's magic always failed her whenever fear entered her mind. It was confusing, considering whenever she faced the Evil Queen in the Enchanted Forest she had fear in the back of her mind, but it also made sense because fear was not her forefront.

Sitting down, Gerda held her head in her hands. "How am I supposed to control this?" She thought aloud, knowing no one could hear her. She had been wondering about this a lot in the past few years, ever since the curse had been broken. Her powers had come back, and she could do what she had done before, in the Enchanted Forest. But without her dad…..

Suddenly, a strange beeping noise came from the depths of Gerda's coat pocket, and looking inside, she pulled out her cellphone. Checking new messages, she saw Henry had tried to call her. She typed in his number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" henry asked, the signal not as clear as Gerda would have expected.

"Hey Henry! Sorry I didn't pick up the phone! I was busy." Gerda blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

"That's okay Gerda. But I was wondering if you could come over to my house for a minute? I need to ask you a favour." Henry replied, sounding very insistent. Gerda agreed she would, and hung up.

 _So much for training._ She thought, but she didn't want to excuse Henry's issue.

As she left her hideout, Gerda had a strange feeling that she was being followed. Ignoring it, she continued down the beaten path of the forest, and didn't bother looking behind her.

The woman had watched Gerda the entire time. She had felt sorry for the girl, but was also very happy that she had finally found her. It had been years since she had seen her last, and noticed how tall the girl had gotten.

She could feel her pendant start to grow warm on her chest, and knew she had better leave. Thinking of the magic incantation, she disappeared on the spot. Gerda didn't even notice.


	8. A Familiar Name

Chapter Eight: A Familiar Name

Gerda hurried over to Henry's, after texting Mary Margaret where she would be. Knocking on the door lightly, Gerda waited on the porch as light rain began to fall. She looked down at her phone, seeing that Mary Margaret got her message.

The door opened in front of her, and she was surprised at the look of worry over Henry's face. "Henry, what's wrong-?" Before Gerda could finish, Henry pulled her inside, and closed the door.

"I don't have much time before my mom gets home, so we have to be quick. Do you have the supplies?" Henry asked, as he kept eyeing the door.

Gerda nodded, and put her backpack on the kitchen table. As she pulled out her father's equipment, both teenagers turned to the sound of the door opening behind them. "Hurry, downstairs!" Henry demanded, helping Gerda put all the equipment back in her bag. They ran to the stairs that lead to Henry's basement, and Gerda would not be kidding when she said Henry literally pushed her down the stairs. She tripped down the first few but regained her balance, and headed down the stairs, as Henry went to go grab something.

A few minutes later, as Gerda stood alone in the dark, Henry opened the door and gave her some files. "Here they are. I just need you to be able to identify the names on these documents. They are really important, and if you can only make out the names, could you write them down?" Before Gerda could respond, she heard the mayor enter the front door, and call for Henry.

"You go Henry, I can do this." Gerda reassured him, smiling. He smiled back, and Gerda watched him go up the stairs two at a time, then disappear upstairs.

Looking down at her bag, she set out the equipment on the table in front of her, then got to looking at the documents. They were family trees, and they must have been really old, as she could see the wear in the parchment.

"Well, let's hope I don't damage these." She said aloud, as she began her work.

"How was your day mom?" Henry asked, glancing back at the basement door. He needed to come up with an excuse, and quickly.

Regina took off her jacket and tousled her hair, letting her hands get wet with rain. "It was hard, but alright. I had to go to the ultrasound of my new niece or nephew, with Zelena complaining the entire time." She stated, smiling at her son.

"Well, I am sorry to hear about that, mom. But I have some work I am doing downstairs, so if you don't mind…." With that, Henry turned on his heel and headed back for the stairs. Regina looked at him, and sighed. All she wanted to do was spend some time with her son, but obviously that wasn't going to happen tonight.

Walking into the dining room, she noticed a cell phone on the table, which she didn't recognize. Someone else was in the house.

"Henry!" She yelled out angrily.

"Dude, your mom is mad." Gerda stated, as she was working on the parchment. She was very close to finalizing the last name Henry wanted. Henry looked up at the stairs with a worried expression. "What if we go up for dinner? We can say…?"

"We're working on a project." Gerda suggested. "I mean, we are, technically." Henry nodded at the idea, and together they walked up the stairs, and they ran into Regina.

"Henry Daniel Mills! Why didn't you tell me that Gerda was here!?" Regina demanded, crossing her arms. Gerda gave her a pathetic wave, then put her arm down when she saw the expression on Regina's face.

"I'm sorry, mom. It's just that, Gerda and I are working on a project, and it's kinda private…." Henry tried to explain.

"Look , it's my fault. We should have stayed up here where you could see us. But we aren't doing drugs or anything bad, I swear." Gerda helped, and by proving it she pulled out the family trees she had, and gave them to her. Henry wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

Thankfully, Regina didn't bother to look at who the family tree belonged to. She just gave it back to Henry, and stalked off to the kitchen. "Well, you better be staying for dinner." She called back.

Gerda looked to Henry, and smiled. "Looks like I'm here for a while."

As Robin entered his campsite, he could hear Roland running towards him, but he was staring at the ground and couldn't see him. "Daddy!" He called out, grabbing at Robin's legs.

"Hey Roland!" Robin replied, picking up his son into the air. Putting him down again, he saw him run off to see some other kids.

As Robin kept walking, all he could think of was Gerda. She looked so familiar, but he didn't know how. I mean, he couldn't even place who she looked familiar to. Maybe it was someone of his past. Shaking away the thought of Gerda for now.

Looking into his hand, he could see little hands and feet. The ultrasound showed his unborn infant, who was inside Zelena. Half of him felt sad, yet half of him felt overjoyed. He was going to have another child. He was going to welcome a baby brother or sister to his son.

But then something else entered his mind. This child would also be Regina's niece or nephew, making it a very complicated situation. What would they do? Would this child unite them, or destroy them?

Sighing, Robin entered his tent and didn't come out until the next day.

Gerda tossed and turned all night long. She was wondering what Henry needed with Robin's family tree? He hadn't bothered telling her, but just asked her to come back the next day after dinner. Deciding finally that she wouldn't fall asleep, she got out of bed at 6:00 am, and walked over to her desk, where the family tree laid on its surface. She gasped.

"The final name!" Gerda called out loud, clapping her hand over her mouth. She forgot she wasn't alone. Mary Margaret and David were downstairs. When she didn't hear any movement, she sat down on her chair, and looked over the name.

It was too dark to see anything, so she turned on a lamp light. Scanning over the page, she recognized most of the names, as she had spent quite a bit of time with Henry looking them over. They even searched up some names in another book Belle had lent Henry.

Finally, Gerda eagerly looked at the name across from Robin's, which was to indicate that it was a brother or sister. She and Henry figured this out.

She gasped. She recognized the name, alright. It was someone she knew. "Uh-oh." She wheezed. She felt her heart drop in her chest. She couldn't let Henry know about this. If he saw the name….

"Looks like I'll have to hide it." Gerda decided, nodding her head. "And looks like I'll have to leave." Gerda also stated, swallowing deeply.

She didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. Henry would search for the name from Gerda, but she couldn't give it to him. Unless, she left a fake name. She shook her head. No, she wouldn't do that. She cared for Henry, and she couldn't lie to him.

Treading lightly over the carpet, Gerda grabbed her backpack and some of her other things. Looking behind her, she remembered the family tree, and grabbed it as well. Stuffing it into her bag, she gave one last look around her room, and sighed. She quite enjoyed staying with David and Mary Margaret.

Fighting off tears, Gerda headed towards the stairs, and she pried open the front door, and gave a fleeting look to the two lumps on the bed.

"Goodbye." Gerda whispered. With that, she headed out the door, closing it behind her.

 _Let's play, mommy! A little girl ran to Regina, and Regina held her arms wide open. But the girl ran past her, and Regina looked to her. Gasping, Regina watched the little girl run into Zelena's arms. Zelena has a wicked smile on her face, and standing at her side, is…_

 _"Robin!" Regina tried to call out, but her voice was gone. Robin smiled at Regina, and gave Zelena a long kiss. Regina tried to call out, but it was useless._

 _"Mom! Mom!" Regina could hear a familiar voice, but didn't know who it was. "Mom, wake up! Mom!"_

Regina woke up with a start, covered in sweat. Standing over her was Henry, and he had been trying to shake her awake.

"Henry, what's wrong, honey?" Regina asked groggily, rising slightly. When she saw the tears in Henry's eyes, she sat up straighter.

Henry sat down on the bed. "It's Gerda, mom. She's gone."

"Gone, what do you mean gone?" Regina asked. "We just saw her last night, dear. Why would she leave?" Regina asked, rubbing Henry's arm soothingly. She noticed how muscular he had become. He had grown up way too quickly.

"It was because of yesterday." Henry sighed. "Mom, Gerda and I weren't doing regular homework. Well, you know how Gerda's father use to recheck old books and fix them up?" Regina nodded. "Anyway, I had to look up some old names for something, and I needed Gerda's help. But something about the name must have set something off." Henry tried to explain, but he breathed heavily. "She must have known the person, Henry." Regina stated.

Regina stood up, and sighed. "Well, why did you need her help anyway?" Regina asked. Henry looked up, but avoided her gaze. He knew he would have to tell her.

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you." Henry started.


	9. A Small Favour

Chapter Nine: A Small Favour

Gerda looked at herself in the mirror, and frowned. For practising magic, Rumpelstiltskin had asked Gerda to wear a tunic like outfit, which came with a pair of black tights and hunting boots. Her hair was tied back in a long braid which tickled against her shoulder blades.

She couldn't believe that her dad had made this deal with Rumpelstiltskin just to protect her. Part of her was upset with him, but another part was sort of happy. It showed how much her dad cared about her, even though he wasn't there. Because of her.

Gerda sighed. It had been three weeks since she had seen her father, and she missed him terribly. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye, and now she doubted whether he was still alive or not. The Evil Queen may have already done him in.

"Come now deary, let's not mope. It's time to practise!" Rumpelstiltskin stated cheerfully. Gerda sighed. She had no idea how he could stay so happy all the time. Perhaps his happiness was fake. Anyway, obeying her teacher, Gerda stood up, and faced him.

He wasted no time in trying to attack, and Gerda had barely dodged his fire ball. Smacking her cheek against the ground, she rubbed it slightly. "Well deary, you can't expect the Evil Queen to let you just get away!" Rumpelstiltskin moaned, rolling his eyes.

"What makes you think I'll be facing the Evil Queen?" Gerda questioned, firing back. She had been using light magic against his dark magic, and could feel its cling to her skin. It was as if the dark magic was trying to enter through her.

"Justice, Gerda." When Gerda looked confused, Rumpelstiltskin explained. "You see, Gerda, you are a good guy. A hero, much like Snow White and Prince Charming. The Queen attacked your village, and pilfered your father." With this, he dropped his mouth wide, and placed his hand over his heart. "Truly tragic. And you, a skinny teenager with a powerful ability for magic tried to save him, but couldn't. So, you ran away." He tried to run a little over the carpet, and Gerda held in a snicker.

"But, you did not give up! Remembering the advice of your father, you came to me, more or less, and I decided to help you become stronger. That is, at a price." He flourished his hand.

"Yes, and what is that price?" Gerda asked. She stood up, now becoming more serious. "Because I am not going to do anything dangerous or stupid, i.e attacking the Evil Queen." Gerda added, crossing her arms.

"Ah, but I am afraid that you have to, dear." Rumpelstiltskin stated. "You see, your father agreed to this deal-"

"But I highly doubt that he expected this! The last thing he would want is for me to be in danger!" Gerda yelled, finding her temper rising. "And after everything that has happened, I may not even get to see him ever again!" Gerda's voice was raised higher now. She could feel her throat go raw.

Before Rumpelstiltskin could continue, Gerda raged on. "And why should I listen to you anyway! How will you help me?!" And the next thing Gerda knew, light flourished out of her hand, striking a nearby lamp.

Looking down at her hands, Gerda sank to the ground, feeling tears stream down her face. "I just want him back." She choked out. And instead of Rumpelstiltskin's usual reaction of stating 'I told you so', he came to Gerda's side, and helped her up.

"As you know Gerda, I do not use light magic. But you have a gift, Gerda. You were not raised with dark thoughts, like I was, or dark magic, like the Evil Queen was." Rumpelstiltskin explained. "Also, your father knew that I was able to help you the most. I mean, if you fell into the wrong hands…"

"You mean the Queen's?" Gerda questioned, grinning. She had to admit, it was nice to feel wanted, even if it was only for her magic.

"Yes, I mean the Queen's." Rumpelstiltskin stated, snickering. "Anyway, would you rather be under her control, or helping me with a few things?" Rumpelstiltskin asked innocently, Gerda seeing a twinkle in his eyes.

Rolling hers, Gerda sighed. "I would rather be here than under the Queen's control." She stated, as if reading it off a cue card. "Wait a minute, what few things do you want me to help you with?" Gerda asked, confused.

Rumpelstiltskin merely laughed.

 _"Dad, we have to go! Dad!" Michael could hear his name being called out, and opened his eyes. "Gerda!" He yelled, rising. He found no bindings on his arms or legs. Weird. Also, the door of his prison cell was open. Double weird. But at the end of the hall, he saw her. His beautiful daughter._

 _Running forward, he was surprised when Gerda retreated, moving away. "Not now, dad. We have to get out of her! The Queen will soon know what is going on!" With that said, Gerda grabbed Michael's arm, and started to run._

 _Michael had never seen Gerda so worried. He couldn't blame her. All he knew was that in a few hours, he and Gerda would be free. As they ran, Michael supporting himself now, he noticed Gerda take a wrong turn._

 _"Gerda, that's the wrong way." Michael said. But Gerda didn't listen. Instead, to Michael's horror, Gerda entered the Queen's chambers._

 _"Gerda!" Michael yelled, entering himself. But instead, he found himself in the Queen's courtyard. The Queen herself was standing there, her cape spread out to her side. "Where is my daughter?" Michael demanded._

 _The Queen merely laughed, a mirthless laugh at that. "You fool! Your precious daughter is with me now, your worst nightmare." With that, the Queen lifted her cape, and under it, to Michael's horror, Gerda laid, her hair strewn in every direction._

 _"No!" Michael yelled, trying to reach her. But two guards grabbed at his arms, holding him back. "Oh, you need not worry about, your daughter, dear. I'll take good care of her." With that, the Queen stroked part of Gerda's hair._

 _"Don't touch her!" Michael cried out. But before he could say anything else, he heard her voice. "Oh get off it dad." In front of his eyes, Gerda rose, and smiled at her father. "You really didn't think I was gone, did you?" She asked menacingly._

 _Standing upright, Gerda's appearance changed. Her usual outfit turned into a long, dark dress, with a matching cape._

 _"Gerda, what's happening?" Michael asked, fighting against the guards. Gerda merely laughed at her father's struggle. "Oh father, you must understand. Light magic just isn't worth it. Now dark magic, is much more fun." She emphasised the word fun, and shot fire out of her hands. Then, her aim changed, for his chest._

 _"Gerda, no!" He shouted. Too late._

"Ahhhhh!" Michael woke with a start. He clutched his chest, but felt nothing. Checking his pulse, he felt himself calm down. Looking around, he was, for once, happy to be in his prison cell. Until he remembered. He looked at the place where Steven once sat, and felt tears in his eyes. The young, brave man, refused to bow down to the Queen, and suffered terribly. His village suffered as well. No one was left alive.

Sighing, Michael rested his head against the hard wall. It had been weeks since he had seen his daughter. He had a feeling that she was in good hands. When he thought of who she was with, re restated his answer. She was in capable hands. Er, sort of. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to leave Gerda with Rumpelstiltskin, but he had no choice. Of course, when Gerda was little, King Leopold was still in charge, but Michael couldn't take any chances of anyone finding out about his daughter. And Rumpelstiltskin was the only person he could think of that would protect Gerda no matter what.

Bearing that in mind, Michael felt little fear as the Queen's guards dragged him up and out of the prison cell.

"Oh, is that all?" Gerda demanded. "Let me get this straight: you want me to sneak into Maleficent's castle, and steal the gem out of her staff? Why?" Gerda questioned. Rumpelstiltskin waved his hand as if to wipe away Gerda's questions. "She'll replace it later, anyway. The point is, I need the gem. It is very powerful. But also dangerous." Rumpelstiltskin stated this with a smirk.

"Dangerous? As in, people could die?" Gerda asked. When Rumpelstiltskin nodded, Gerda shivered.

"Alright, I'll do it. But what for? You know, for me and my dad." Gerda asked, sitting down on the edge of the table and crossing her arms.

"If you do this Gerda, you will be saving many people, including Snow White. And, as for your father, he will be set free under a distraction." When Gerda looked confused, Rumpelstiltskin went further to explain. "You see, we will make sure that the robbery in Maleficent's castle will cause a huge attention spree within the kingdom. When the Evil Queen finds out, she will become distracted from us for a while, and that's when we strike. We will then free your father, and come back here."

Gerda considered his plan, and laughed. "Alright, I'm in. But let's make sure that my father is safe."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded, and Gerda left to go to bed, satisfied. What Gerda didn't know, however, was that Rumpelstiltskin merely needed Michael so that he could make another deal. Michael and Gerda were merely pawns in his plans. Laughing to himself, Rumpelstiltskin decided to spin some gold, to calm his nerves.


	10. The Visit

Chapter Ten: The Visit

"What do you mean, she left?" Mary Margaret asked. She and David just realized that Gerda was no longer in their house, and called over Henry and Regina. Henry had just told his grandparents that Gerda had left, probably early that morning.

"The real question is, why would she leave?" David asked, looking to Henry. Henry sighed, and told them everything. He could trust his family, right?

After he told them, he pulled out the magic wand, and he could hear all the gasps in the room. "Also, there's something else, mom." He turned to Regina, and sighed. Holding the wand in front of Regina, he saw it turn light blue.

"This means that the person who is using a whole ton of magic is, well, related to you." Henry got out, looking at his mom sheepishly.

"Well, then that person must be Zelena." Regina stated, not believing him. "Problem solved."

"Well, that's not true." Belle said, standing in the door way of Mary Margaret's house. "You see Henry and I had a chat with Zelena, and she said-"

"Henry! I told you not to go near that woman! She tried to kill you!" Regina yelled outraged. "And Belle, how dare you put my son in harms way." Regina turned on Belle. "You are not to interfere in Henry's life-"

"He was helping me solve this mystery, Madame Mayor!" Belle defended. "And he was willing. It wasn't as if I tied him up and forced him there."

As the two woman argued, with Mary Margaret and David trying to come between them, Henry decided that he was getting nowhere, and grabbing the wand, walked out of the house. Sometimes, you had to leave these problems to the truest believer.

As Gerda entered the hospital doors, she couldn't help but hope that her dad was somewhere in the ward. She hadn't been inside the hospital in years, avoiding it because of her squirminess around doctors.

Heading towards the back of the building, Gerda descended the stairs, knowing that she would be entering what she called "the insane ward". Sighing, she knew this had to be done. She needed to talk to the man who knew all about her family.

Sneaking past the secretary at the main desk, Gerda walked down the ward hall and looked at each door, searching through names. There was a door with the name Zelena on it, and Gerda ran past it, knowing that, from what Henry told her, that Zelena was wicked, and could sense magic.

Finally she came to the door she wanted. The name printed on the door was Isaac.

Knocking lightly, she heard a voice from inside, beckoning her to enter.

"Gerda!" Henry called out. He decided the best place to search was the forest, where Gerda spent a lot of her free time. Looking around, he came across Gerda's hideout without meaning to, and saw her target boards. "Weird." Henry thought aloud, picking one up.

"Ow!" He cried out, dropping it. The board was really hot, and Henry saw why. Black marks were noticeable on the back of the board, looking like lightning strikes. "What's Gerda been up to?"

Henry decided that the forest wasn't probably the safest place at the moment, and headed to Gerda's house, which she had to leave in order to stay with Mary Margaret.

He arrived at the house a mere ten minutes later, having run most of the way. Noticing that the door was left ajar, he decided that he should enter, which he knew was against his better judgement. Peeking around inside, Henry picked up an old photo of a man and a small girl, most likely Gerda and her dad. He smiled at the photo, and thought of his late father, Baelfire, who had been killed by his ruthless aunt. Shaking away painful memories, Henry put the photo in his pocket, knowing that David would need it. Pacing across the room, Henry noticed books about magic strewn all over the place. Some were very old, while others looked brand new.

Smiling, Henry found himself more curious about Gerda's life. Looking through the books, he noticed a name written in cursive on the covers of each book. _Michael._ "That must be his name." Henry thought aloud.

"What are you doing here?" A voice demanded. Looking behind him, Henry felt his feet leave the ground as he fell to the carpet, hitting his head. Before he blacked out, Henry noticed only one thing: the woman in front of him seemed to be made of white light. Then everything went black.

"Ah, who might we have here?" Isaac asked of his guest, grinning wickedly. The hospital staff had removed any weapons or books away from him, so to Gerda, he wasn't a threat. Harmless, even.

As well, Gerda had the upper hand. She knew who Isaac was, and he didn't know her. Even though the smirk still played on his lips, she could see a look of worry in his eyes. He feared her.

Smiling, Gerda sat down in a nearby chair. "Why should I tell you my name?" She asked, pondering Isaac's reasons. Rumpelstiltskin had reasons for knowing peoples' names, which Gerda herself still didn't understand. But Isaac, she hadn't a clue.

"Well my dear, I know you come to me for assistance, but I cannot help you unless I know you." Isaac explained. "Cleary as the Author, Henry would have told you-"

"Do not talk about him!" Gerda rose from her chair, feeling protective. "You have no right to say anything about him!"

Isaac didn't look taken aback, but merely struck. "Ah, so you are friends with him. What would he think if he knew you were with me?" Isaac asked. Gerda didn't like to think about what Henry would have thought of her. Shaking away his question, Gerda decided to let Isaac know her name. "My name is Gerda, and yes, I need your help."

The look of triumph on Isaac's face vanished, and was replaced with fear. "You're Gerda? From the book?" When Gerda nodded, Isaac moved back a bit. "That means you have magic, right?" Gerda nodded again, and thought that Isaac was acting kind of weird.

 _Wait a minute…_ "Are you scared of me, Isaac?"

"Well, duh." Isaac asked, as if Gerda's question was stupid. "You have magic! I used to, but now it's gone, thanks to Emma…." Suddenly, Isaac looked up to Gerda. "You know about Emma, right?" When Gerda shook her head, Isaac seized the opportunity. He would be the one to scare her.

"I guess Henry decided that you shouldn't know." Isaac sat back, arms behind his head. This was going to be good.

"Know what? I know Emma has gone evil, and that she needs to be stopped. So what?" Gerda asked. Isaac merely laughed, then answered. "Well, who do you think is going to defeat her? Or, who are they going to send?" Isaac asked.

Gerda shrugged. "Probably Regina, she is the most powerful in the town." Suddenly, what Isaac was trying to tell her made sense. "You think they're going to send me to fight Emma? Why?"

Now Gerda was intrigued. She didn't know whether to believe him or not, but she decided to listen to what he had to say.

"You are one of the most powerful in the town, Gerda. And because of that, you have posed as a threat. Much like you were in the Enchanted Forest." Isaac explained. "And I don't know if Regina can handle Emma's power." Isaac stated honestly. "The fact is, with Rumpelstiltskin knocked out, you are the only person left."

When Gerda looked confused, Isaac rolled his eyes. "Gerda, you need to defeat Emma. You are her greatest threat. And she will stop at nothing until she gets rid of you."

Gerda shook her head, grabbing it with her hands. "No! No, this isn't true! You're lying!" Her hands spread out in front of her, and she could feel the tingle of power within her grasp. "No!" Isaac yelled, scrambling off his chair to get back.

But it was too late.

Zelena woke up to Isaac's scream, and pressed her ear to the wall. All she could hear was a name: Gerda.

"It cannot be." She whispered, bringing her hand to her lips. But how? After all these years…..

She then lowered her head. "Michael."

"He was attacked? But how?" Regina questioned , as she walked at a brisk pace through the hospital. "Who attacked him?"

"That's the thing, he won't say. At least, not to me, he will." confessed. Regina looked at him. Must have taken him a lot to tell her that.

Shrugging, Regina cracked her knuckles. "Well, he'll have to tell me."

Entering his hospital room, Regina glared at Isaac. "Wake up." Isaac stirred, and when he realized who was in his room, he shifted back, trying his best to put as much distance as he could between himself and Regina.

"It was her." Isaac whimpered, holding his broken arm. "The girl." This took Regina back.

"What do you mean, the girl? Who?" Regina was assuming that Isaac had dealt with Emma. But now…

"Who was it, Isaac?" Regina demanded. "Who?"

Isaac sat up, and didn't answer. That's when Regina used tough love. Isaac began to choke. "Alright, I'll tell you." He choked, clutching his throat.

Letting him go, Regina watched Isaac slump back on the bed, and she came closer. Isaac could swear he saw a faint glimmer of the Evil Queen. "It was Gerda. She attacked me. With magic."


	11. The Wand Maker

Chapter Eleven: The Wand Maker

Gerda sighed. She had travelled a great distance to get to Maleficent's castle. If Rumpelstiltskin hadn't forbidden Gerda to not use magic she would have finished the task by now, but no, he wanted her to do it the hard way. And he didn't even give her a good reason why. "Because I said so." Just didn't cut it.

But Gerda obeyed, and five days later she found herself in front of Maleficent's castle. Breathing in heavily, she looked at the massive structure. How was she supposed to steal the crystal? Sighing, Gerda tried to rack her brains together as she walked over the cobblestone bridge leading up to the castle. _All I need is the crystal, than I can get out of here._ She thought, as she walked. But how was she supposed to grab it? She needed a diversion…

Coming up to the large oak doors that she presumed were the main doors, Gerda was about to knock when she heard something behind her. Turning, she could see a sort of carriage coming up the main road, and she knew that she either needed to hide, or get in the castle quickly. Deciding to go with the second option, Gerda opened the heavy doors without knocking, and closed them behind her quickly.

The two women looked at each other as they walked up to Maleficent's castle. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" The one on the right asked, skeptical. She always thought that everything couldn't be trusted.

The woman on the left nodded. "I am positive. Why would Maleficent invite us if she only wanted to destroy us? Besides, in the letter it specifically stated that she needed help taking care of a problem. We are here to help her." With that said, the two woman came to the giant oak doors, and didn't bother knocking. They merely opened the door and entered.

 _Now what?_ Gerda thought, as she walked down another long hallway of the castle. This was the third hallway she had entered, and she was starting to wonder if the castle was bigger than it actually appeared on the outside.

Shrugging at the thought, Gerda looked around. She needed the staff, and fast. When she heard voices behind her, Gerda ducked behind a tapestry, thankful that there was a step that would cover her feet. She could hear light chatter between three different voices, and all of them were women. She assumed one of the belonged to Maleficent, but she couldn't place the other two. Maybe friends of hers'. Shrugging, Gerda tried to think of a way to grab the staff when she felt a weird sensation in her stomach. Then, it worked its way to the tips of her fingers.

Feeling slightly drowsy, Gerda decided she would get out from behind the tapestry, and checked to see no one was there. Again, she shrugged, and waltzed down a hall, not feeling in danger. She should have been more careful, but a feeling of happiness leapt inside her, causing all her worry to melt away.

Coming to three separate doors, Gerda would usually use her magic to sense anything behind each door. But she had a weird bubbly feeling inside her, and went for the middle door. Opening it wide, Gerda looked inside. She saw a green spinning wheel.

"So, Maleficent, why have you called us here?" The two ladies, who were, in fact, friends of Maleficent's, sat down on either side of her, right near the fireplace. Maleficent set down her staff, and looked her guests in the eyes.

"I just received word from Queen Regina that a fugitive is wanted in her kingdom." Maleficent stated. When both guests looked unimpressed, Maleficent pressed on. "And this fugitive can use magic. Very powerful magic apparently. And also, she is being trained by the great warlock himself, Rumpelstiltskin."

With this stated, Maleficent caught her breath, and waited to see the reactions. She didn't have to wait long.

"A child, who can use powerful magic? That is quite unheard of." The woman on the right said, frowning. "And especially coming from Regina."

The other guest nodded, and took a long dreg from her pipe. "But what would she want with the child? Could this child really be that big of a threat?" She asked, groaning. Maleficent shrugged. "All I know is that Regina would not send me a letter unless we were to be worried. She also warned me of something else: 'Watch that Rumpelstiltskin doesn't use the child to steal from you.' I wonder if I should worry."

Just at that moment, a loud crash could be heard from another room. "The spinning wheel!" Maleficent cried, fleeing out of her throne room. Her two guests followed quickly behind her.

"This is why I don't send other people to do my dirty work." Rumpelstiltskin cooed, stomping down on one last piece of the now shattered spindle. He caught Gerda right in time before she pressed her finger against the spindle.

"Well, thanks for saving me." Gerda stated, trying to shrug off what she just went through. But she could feel her stomach tighten at the thought of her being caught in a long, deep sleep. How could she let her guard down?

"There's no time for thanks, deary. Now, because of you, Maleficent will come in here and catch me. But you can still make it up to me." Rumpelstiltskin stated, turning on Gerda. "I can sense that the Mistress of all evil doesn't have her staff on her. I will distract her while you go and grab the staff. Then, we will meet up in the Forest later."

With his plan explained, Rumpelstiltskin pushed Gerda through another door, and Gerda decided she better run. She had already wasted enough time drowsy, she needed to get the staff. Or, the gem at least. That was what Rumpelstiltskin wanted anyway.

Coming into a giant room with a roaring fire, Gerda saw the staff precariously placed against the arm of a chair. Reaching for it, she jerked her hand back, feeling as if her hand had been burned. "Ow!" She cried, looking down at her hand. Her palm was red and burned. Recalling if Rumpelstiltskin had said anything about the staff, Gerda suddenly remembered: the staff was filled with dark magic. And since Gerda held only light magic, she couldn't touch the staff. So, she would have to pluck out the gem.

Just to be safe, Gerda brought up the sleeve of her blouse to cover her hand, and reached out for the staff. It was a bright green, much like her father's eyes. She felt her throat tighten at the thought of him, and managed to push herself to keep going.

Wrapping her hand around the gem, Gerda pulled with all her might and got it out. But she pulled with too much force, because the next thing she knew, the gem went flying, and smashed onto the ground behind her.

"Oh no!" Gerda almost shouted, but remembering where she was, she bite her lip. She could feel blood dribble down her chin as she fell to her knees. "What have I done?" Gerda asked, feeling a single tear fall down her face.

Suddenly, from the small pieces of the gem, dust began to swirl, collecting all the broken pieces. A small tornado of green smoke appeared, spinning in front of Gerda's surprised expression. The tornado was powerful, and the next thing Gerda knew, she had been thrown back, and landed on her bottom near the three chairs.

Rubbing her backside, Gerda looked at what was once a pile of glass, and gasped. Instead of gem remnants, a long wand appeared, white and mystical looking. Gerda didn't know what to do. What if Rumpelstiltskin didn't plan for this to happen? What if Gerda had ruined everything? What if he backed out on helping to save her father?

As Gerda picked up the wand, all these questions vanished from her mind when she heard growling from behind her. Looking, she saw a large great dane staring her down, baring its teeth. Gerda felt her body stiffen. She had no idea Maleficent had a dog. Why didn't Rumpelstiltskin tell her? Unless…. he didn't know.

"See Maleficent, I told you he was stalling." A woman said behind Gerda. Looking at the door, Gerda swallowed hard. Maleficent wasn't alone.


	12. Rumpelstiltskin's Betrayal

Chapter Twelve: The Queens of Darkness

Cruella de Vil and Ursula, the Sea Witch, stood on either side of Maleficent, glaring Gerda down. Gerda turned back and forth from them to the dog, who was still baring his teeth. She was scared that at any moment, the dog would attack.

"Come here boy." Cruella cooed, and the dog obeyed. She whispered something in his ear, and he, according to what Gerda could tell, nodded, and left the throne room.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Maleficent asked, tilting her head to the side. "A thief? A beggar? A murderer? Or just a pathetic child?" Once she asked, Maleficent sent out a bolt of power from her hands, causing Gerda to flip in the air and land on her back, writhing in pain.

"Oh, please let me do some torture, Mal. It has been far too long." Ursula begged, making Gerda's stomach tighten. She could see the tentacle come at her, and dodged just in time, rolling into a somersault and landing on her feet. She turned back to her enemy. Gerda had no idea if she should fight with magic, or try to talk her way out of getting killed. She did know one thing though: she wasn't letting go of the wand.

Trying to conceal it, Cruella de Vil caught sight of Gerda's action. "What does she have, Maleficent?"

Maleficent waved her hand, freezing Gerda in place. She couldn't move at all. Coming closer, Maleficent gasped. "How did you get this?" She demanded of the girl, anger written in her cold face. "Where is my staff?"

But before Gerda could answer, Ursula came forward, and held out the long black staff to Maleficent. The bulb where the gem had once been looked bare and empty. Maleficent wrenched the staff out of Ursula's hands, and cried out. "You foolish girl! Look what you have done! Do you know how long it took for me to nab that gem?"

But before Maleficent could finish Gerda off, Cruella called out: "Oh deary, don't kill her. Yet. Just grab the wand and then we'll have some fun." Cruella looked to Gerda in such a way that it made Gerda's flesh crawl.

"Yes, I suppose that will work." Maleficent sighed, clearly bored of the idea of torturing a thief. Walking over to Gerda, she wrapped her hand around the wand. What Maleficent didn't know, however, is that her spell on Gerda wore off.

"Give it to me." Maleficent ordered. But Gerda wouldn't let go. She would rather die than disappoint Rumpelstiltskin. Gerda knew it was time to let these three witches know. Pointing her palm at Maleficent, Gerda released a shock of power, which surged through Maleficent's body. She flew backwards, landing on top of Cruella de Vil.

"It's her! Capture her!" Ursula called out. Gerda didn't know to whom she had called, but was surprised when Maleficent stood. She stretched out her arms to the heavens, and began to glow. Horrified, Gerda watched as Maleficent transformed into a huge dragon, breathing fire.

Gerda knew she couldn't fight her, and began to look around the room. She spotted a large window behind the throne, and sprinted towards it. She could hear Maleficent spit fire in her direction, and dodged most of it. But one of the flames licked the back of her arm, and she cried out. But Gerda kept running, and not even thinking, leapt through the window, sending glass everywhere.

Gerda walked for days after her jump from the window. She didn't go to the meeting place Rumpelstiltskin suggested, but merely walked back to his home. And in ways that Gerda could not yet explain, he was already there, sitting on his chair, spinning gold.

"Oh, you've come back." Rumpelstiltskin stated, not even bothering to turn around. There was coldness in his voice. He expected Gerda to fail.

"I got the gem." Gerda stated, nervous. "But there was a catch."

At this statement, Rumpelstiltskin turned around, and saw the wand, clutched in Gerda red, bloodied hand. Gerda had gotten into a bit of trouble with another dog.

"You got this?" Rumpelstiltskin demanded, grabbing the wand. "But how? How did you-" He waved his hand in front of Gerda "get this?"

Sighing, Gerda explained everything, including how she had faced the three woman, with one of them turning into a dragon. "Well, in my defence, I thought she no longer turned into a dragon." Rumpelstiltskin shrugged off. He then eyed Gerda's burn, which was no longer stinging, and looked better than before. Even though Gerda treated it, it still ached. "Would you like me to take care of that?" Rumpelstiltskin asked kindly.

"No." Gerda stated. "I want to keep this. To remember what I went through to get that stupid wand." And turning around, she marched out of the room, ready for a long rest.

The guards had wrapped their hands around the three witches' arms, clearly not caring who they were. But the moment they brought them into Regina's chamber, they let go. Though they had faced the Queen many times, none of the three woman could say that they weren't scared.

"So, you have news for me Maleficent?" Regina cooed, standing up and facing her guests. She wore a seductive black gown, with a large tiara on her head. She curled her hands into fists, then let them go.

"Yes, Regina." Maleficent quivered. No one had ever seen her this scared before. "The child was at my castle a few days ago."

Regina perked up at this, smiling. "And I presume you caught her? Because I will be more than happy to give you a reward-"

"She got away." Cruella de Vi spat. Ursula nodded beside her, while Maleficent looked at the ground.

"What?" Regina questioned, glowering. "She got away? But she is a mere child! How could she escape three of the most powerful witches in the land?!" Outraged, the Evil Queen took out her anger on a nearby guard, who crumpled to the ground.

"At least you weren't in dragon form." Regina stated, but when she saw the sheepish look on Maleficent's face, she threw her hands in the air in defeat. Walking to her dresser with her mirror on it, she opened up a jewelry box and pulled something out. She could hear the others gasp when she spun around. She held a human heart in her hand.

"Get up here!" She demanded at the heart, then she set it down on the surface. "Let me get this straight: you were in your dragon form, and she escaped? There were three of you, and she escaped?" When Regina saw that Maleficent's gem was missing, her sneer grew worse. "And she stole your gem?"

"And unlocked the wand." Ursula said under her breath. She didn't intend for Regina to hear her, but she did.

"She unlocked the wand? One of the most powerful magical objects in our realm?" Regina demanded. "How do the three of you get anything done? Now, because of you, Gerda has most likely taken the wand back to Rumpelstiltskin, and no matter what I try, I cannot break into his manor! First, he steals this girl from me, and now, he has the wand?"

But Regina's rant was interrupted. Standing at the door, Michael looked as if he was in a daze. When Regina motioned for him to come forward, he did so without complaint.

"Ladies, meet Gerda's father, Michael." Regina introduced. "I didn't think I would need him, but now apparently I do."

Striding over to the mirror, Regina snapped her fingers, and the Genie appeared. "What do you require, your majesty?" The Mirror questioned.

Smiling, the Queen looked to Michael. "I need you to get a message to our dear friend Rumpelstiltskin. As quick as you can, please."

"So, what does it do?" Gerda questioned, looking at the wand as she ate. She had joined Rumpelstiltskin in his parlour after her long rest, eating a piece of chicken and some bread. The wand sat in front of her on the table.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled. "I was hoping you would say that." Sitting down near Gerda, he explained. "You see, if you point the wand near somebody, it will start to glow. Many different colours could appear, but the ones that need to be looked at especially are orange, light blue, and dark blue. Light blue means that the person you are pointing the wand at is related to someone who uses magic. Dark blue means that the person is someone who uses magic." He then did a little gesture with his fingers, as if emphasizing the importance of the colours.

"What does orange mean?" Gerda asked, confused.

"Ah. Orange means that if a person is using magic, their magic levels are normal, and have not increased. Can be important in some cases." With that, Rumpelstiltskin put the wand away. He then heard something coming from the other room.

"I think I hear something." Rumpelstiltskin stated, rising from his chair. He pulled out the wand and left it for Gerda to look at.

Walking quickly to his chambers, Rumpelstiltskin closed the door and looked at his mirror. He swore he could see something.

"Hello dear."

The Evil Queen was shown within the mirror, even though she wasn't in Rumpelstiltskin's room. A spell could, however, cause any mirror she wanted to show its location, and grant her a peak. So she decided that Rumpelstiltskin's mirror was perfect.

"What may I help you with, deary?" Rumpelstiltskin spit. He wasn't in the mood for Regina, especially when he planned on robbing her.

"Oh, just wanted to say hello. Sorry Maleficent couldn't be here, but she had to go. Some rather urgent business to deal with. She says thanks, by the way, for the lovely little thief you sent her." Regina stated, showing as much kindness as Rumpelstiltskin had. She wasn't pleased with him either.

"So, I guess you knew I was going to rob you." Rumpelstiltskin said. He knew Regina had called for that reason. For anything else he had no idea.

"Yes, it was quite clear in your intentions. However, I have decided that I would like to set a deal with you." Regina smiled, tilting her head lightly. "If you're interested." She added.

Rumpelstiltskin mulled over his options. Of course he was interested. "What's the price?"

Regina gave a strong laugh, throwing her head back. "The girl, of course." Clearing her throat, Regina continued. "Look, I know you like the girl, but let's face it: she is a threat to my kingdom. What if Snow White found out about her?" Regina asked, and Rumpelstiltskin could see worry spread across her face.

"Well deary, she will not know if the girl stays with me." He stated clearly, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

Before he could continue though, Regina pressed on. "I know that, but what about dear Michael? I want him to see his daughter. To die without knowing how your child is would be truly, truly, agonizing."

Rumpelstiltskin's heart froze. How did she know? Did she know? She must have, or else she wouldn't have phrased it like that.

"How dare you bring up my son!" Rumpelstiltskin spat. "I did everything I could for him!"

"I know you did, but look where that has gotten you. He is gone. But Gerda is here. You can fix all of this before everything spins out of control." Regina cooed, as if trying to sooth a small child. "If you give her to me, I will give you power over part of my land."

"I don't want power." Rumpelstiltskin's teeth were gritted. "I already have that. As well as Gerda. What could you possibly offer me?"

Thinking he had her beat, Rumpelstiltskin was turning to leave, when he heard Regina behind him. "I'll let Michael live." Regina called. "Give me the girl, and I will leave Michael alone." When Rumpelstiltskin turned around perplexed, Regina explained. "You see, Gerda will no longer be signed under your deal, because one of the parties will be dead. She will be able to leave the castle freely. And once she knows her father is dead…."

"She'll leave." Rumpelstiltskin finished. The Queen was right. Gerda would leave the moment her contract was up. Inside her, part of her knew she had to stay because her father told her to. But if he were to die, that little part inside her, the obedience to her father, would cease, and Gerda would know that she could leave. And Rumpelstiltskin figured that she would be mad enough to leave.

"You witch." Rumpelstiltskin stated, his hands turned into fists. Sighing, he closed his eyes. "When do you want her?"

Regina laughed, and her laughter cut through his skin like a knife. "I will come by tomorrow."

Gerda pressed her hand to her mouth. Many foul words came to her mind in order to describe Rumpelstiltskin, but traitor sounded best. Fuming, Gerda ran down the hallway, and walked into her bedroom. Grabbing a sack she could toss over her shoulder, she packed all of the essentials. Her clothes, a knife. Looking across the room, she remembered something else.

Crossing the room, Gerda picked out a sword from a large pile. She would definitely need one. Sliding it into her belt, she threw on a sweater and cloak, pulling up her hood. She opened the latch on her bedroom window, and gave the room a sweeping look.

"Goodbye, Rumple." Gerda whispered, and with tears in her eyes, she jumped, landing on the forest floor.


	13. The Truth Comes Out

Chapter Thirteen: The Truth comes out

"Are you sure?" Mary Margaret asked of Regina. Regina had come to Mary Margaret's home after her visit with Isaac. She told her step-daughter everything the jerk would tell her, before he pretended to fall asleep on her.

"I told you, Gerda was the one who put him in the hospital. I'm ashamed that it wasn't me." Regina spat. Her dislike for Isaac was equal with her dislike for her own sister. Sighing, she looked into her cup of coffee. "I just don't believe it."

"Yeah well, neither will Henry." Mary Margaret stated, rolling her eyes. "I mean, why wouldn't she tell somebody? The poor kid, and what with her dad having been away…"

Regina nodded. Wait…. "Did you say her dad has been away? For how long?" When Mary Margaret shrugged, Regina stood up from her chair. "I've got to go check a few things. I think I know how to figure out who Gerda's father is. And not just his name."

Without a moment's hesitation, Regina was out the door, and ran down the stairs, very close to tripping each step.

Not many people knew about the documentation lab in StroyBrooke, but it was there. When Regina had first set the curse, she wanted to keep tabs on everyone who lived in StoryBrooke. And when Emma arrived, Regina was even more watchful.

She hadn't been using it a whole lot, only every once in a while to check if Emma had made a reappearance. Since her magic had been returned to her two years before hand, Regina was able to use magic to work the system, which made it much easier. She usually had a spy take care of the documentation for her.

Swearing lightly, Regina searched through the many documents. She had texted Henry to ask him if he knew who Gerda's father was, and was waiting for a response. Finally, after what felt like hours, her son responded, and gave Regina the name Michael.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Regina asked aloud. Shrugging, she continued to work, until she came up on certain documents with the name of Michael. There was the mechanic Michael, who was the father of Ava and Nicholas Zimmer, who were also known as Gretel and Hansel. But there was also another Michael.

"Michael Parks. Father to Gerda Parks. Last seen…..one year ago?" Regina gasped. A year? How could that be? Looking for more information, Regina was brought back to the time frame of when the curse was just broken. All magic intel and any other piece of information told her that Michael was in StoryBrooke. So Regina skimmed through the months, until she came to a weird part.  
"Michael didn't return from the Enchanted Forest." She said aloud.

"I don't understand." Regina had just told Henry about Gerda's father, and that he had not been in StoryBrooke for an entire year. "But why would Gerda lie to me?" Henry questioned, clenching his hands.

Regina knew she needed to relax him. "Henry, I don't think she was lying from you. Well, at least, I don't think she wanted to. I mean, if anyone found out she had been alone for a whole year, what do you think would happen?"

Henry pondered this, but Regina was impatient. "She would be taken into the care of the Blue Fairy, Henry. She would be put in the orphanage." Henry nodded, and rubbed his eyes. Regina could tell Henry had been crying.

Grabbing his hand, Regina tried to comfort her son. "Look Henry, we will fine her. I know you miss her, and want to help us look for her, but what I need you to do is give me any information about her that you can."

Henry looked at his mom, and took his hand from her grasp. "Why can't I help? I know Gerda, I'm her best friend! I could find her, I could-"

"No!" Regina said sternly. She had stood up. "Henry, right now Gerda is a threat to your safety." This took Henry back. Regina had said too much. "How is she a threat to my safety?" Henry asked, but even as the words came out, he knew the answer. "She can use magic."

Regina sighed. "Yes. She can. And, she has put Isaac in the hospital. Not that I am unhappy about that. But if that happened to you, Henry…."

Regina stopped mid sentence. She couldn't bear the idea of losing her son. It's not that Gerda was at fault, it's just that if Gerda lost control…she swallowed hard. Looking up, Regina gasped. She was so caught up in her own thoughts, she didn't notice Henry creep down the stairs.

"Henry!" Regina cried, throwing herself out the door and down the stairs. But by the time she had gotten to the bottom, it was too late. The front door was left ajar, and Henry was gone.

Henry ran all the way through the woods until he came to Robin's campsite. Robin was sitting there, working with some wood. "Henry." He smiled, surprised at Henry's visit. "I'm afraid I don't have Gerda's present finished yet…"

Henry cut him off. "Forget about that." Henry said, slightly surprised at his tone of voice. "Look, Gerda has gone missing, and I need help looking for her."

Robin stopped his work, and stood up. "Did she run away? How did she disappear?" Robin questioned.

Henry sighed, and explained everything to Robin, including Gerda's magic. Henry could feel his throat tighten as he spoke. He just wanted Gerda back.

"Okay, how about this: I'll send some of the men into the forest for a search party, while you and I go and check at Gerda's home. Perhaps that was the only place she felt safe." Robin suggested. He could see the tears pile in Henry's eyes, ad was in awe at such compassion.

Henry nodded, and together they went to round up some men to help look for his friend.

After a few minutes, some of Robin's friends headed into the woods, leaving Henry and Robin with Roland. Henry didn't mind if Roland came. The two of them got along well enough.

So they headed off in search of Gerda's house, and came to it twenty minutes later. Knocking on the door, Robin heard no answer, so he welcomed himself in.

The living room was trashed. Books were thrown all over the place, dishes from the attached kitchen were smashed, and the cupboard doors ripped off their hinges. The furniture was all turned over, and Gerda was nowhere in sight.

Henry sighed, as he and Robin looked through the kitchen, while Roland wandered around the living room. "Who would do this to Gerda's home?" Robin asked, feeling horrible. He was worried that someone had gotten a hold of Gerda, and for some reason could only think of Zelena. If she knew the girl had that much power…..

"Daddy look." Roland called out, wandering over to his father. In his right arm he held a small bear, with a name stitched into its fur. In the other hand, a small piece of parchment. Robin picked both up, and gasped.

"What is it?" Henry asked. But before he could ask about the parchment, he noticed Robin tuck it away into his pocket. Perhaps it was private. Robin cleared his throat. "This bear has a name on it." And looking closely, Henry could see the name 'Michael'.

"Yeah, that's Gerda's father's name." Henry explained, thinking it wasn't a big deal. But when he saw the look on Robin's face, he knew he was wrong.

Belle had received a text from Henry as he was on his way to Robin's, and followed his instructions: Henry wanted Belle to go to Regina's house and grab the wand before Regina saw it, and go look for Gerda. He had the thought that Gerda might be behind the magical increase. Belle agreed, and went straight to Regina's house.

Thankfully, Regina wasn't home, and Belle used Henry's key to get inside. She saw the bag on the kitchen table, and reached inside for the wand. As she wrapped her hand around it, she paused. Something was wrong.

Instinctively, Belle looked behind her, and gasped. She wasn't alone. A tall woman in a white dress stood behind her, looking at the wand curiously. "Who are you?" Belle demanded. The woman merely smiled, and vanished on the spot in a puff of white smoke.

"Robin, what is going on?" Henry demanded, as he followed Robin and Roland through town. Roland clutched the bear in his right arm, while his father held his hand. They were headed to Rumpelstiltskin's pawn shop.

Letting himself in, Robin let go of Roland's hand and headed for the back, telling Henry to stay with Roland. So Henry waited, while Robin brought back a large box with his name on it.

Seeing the curious look on Henry's face, Robin explained. "These are my personal things. I didn't feel right leaving them in my campsite, so I brought them to Belle. She said they could stay in the back, and I was more than welcome to take them."

With that said, Robin lifted the lid off the box, and rummaged around in it. Finally, his eyes narrowed, and he pulled out a piece of parchment.

Henry drew closer. "What is it, Robin?" Henry asked. He could see tears in Robin's eyes.

Sighing, Robin knew he needed to explain everything. "I knew Michael before, Henry." He started. He pulled out the piece of parchment from his pocket, and on it was a hand drawn picture of two boys and their parents.

Henry looked at the picture closely, and could see a younger version of Robin, and on the right…..

"This boy looks a little like Gerda." Henry stated, and then he stopped. Looking up to Robin, he could see him nod. Henry knew.

"Michael is my brother." Robin said.


	14. Royal Disappointment

Chapter Fourteen: Royal Disappointment

Gerda ran hard through the forest. Not even bothering to see how far she had gotten, she continued without pause. She wanted to separate herself as much as possible from Rumpelstiltskin's manor. He was going to give her to the Queen. He betrayed her!

Shaking her head, Gerda ran in silence for a few more minutes, until she came to a village. Her village.

"What happened?" She asked aloud. And she was right to question the village's state. Buildings were burned to the ground. People young and old wandered around aimlessly outside their homes, turning to look behind them every few seconds.

Gerda noticed the mayor, and clutched her sword as she drew close to him. "How are you, mayor?" Gerda asked, hesitant. He was most likely furious with her. He looked up, and she gasped. His face was burned, with some of the skin around his eye black. His lips were big and puffy, and Gerda could see blood dribble out. His clothes were torn, and he had the look of a plump man who had lost weight quickly.

"Gerda, it's you!" Mayor Gardbor exclaimed, clasping Gerda's hand into his dirty ones. "How are you alive? We thought the Queen had captured you, and assumed the worst…" His voice trailed off. Gerda already knew what he was going to say.

"Well, I'm not dead yet." Gerda assured him, and she saw a hint of a smile on the man's face. "But what happened here, Mayor? Our village…."

"The Queen's knights. They came here a few short days ago, ransacking the place. They were on their way back from Rumpelstiltskin's manor, and they came here. Looking for you."

Gerda's heart dropped into her stomach. The Queen sent her men to destroy an innocent village because of her. The Queen would not rest, and would kill many people because of her. Gerda was the source of the problem. The Queen wouldn't stop until Gerda was in her grasp. Or dead.

Swallowing heavily, Gerda looked down at the mayor. "It's because I ran away from Rumpelstiltskin's manor. He was going to turn me into the Queen, and she would have, well…."

The mayor nodded in understanding. "Come child, let's get you something to eat and drink. You look worse than I do." Now that was saying something.

 _"Where is the girl, Rumple?" The Evil Queen asked, stepping out of her carriage. "I expect prisoners to be awaiting my arrival. But alas." She swept her arms around her. "I see her not."_

 _Rumpelstiltskin whistled through his teeth. "She isn't here, Regina." He said, gritting his teeth. "She overheard our conversation and ran."_

 _The Queen looked Rumpelstiltskin up and down. "She escaped? I told you to bring her to me, and you let her escape?! She could be anywhere by now!" The Queen raged, turning to the closest guard and grabbing his armour. "Find her." The Queen threatened. "Check her village, and anywhere else. I need her alive."_

 _She let go, and the guard, with a few other men, rode off on their horses. Looking back to Rumpelstiltskin, Regina was furious. "We had a deal, Rumple. You were to give me the girl, and I would keep the father alive. Now, because of your insolence, he will have to die."_

 _Reaching behind her, the Queen pulled out a box, and inside was a heart. She began to squeeze it. "No!" Rumpelstiltskin cried out. "Please, leave him alone!" Rumpelstiltskin felt weak. He had never felt this way before._

Waking up, Rumpelstiltskin sat up. It had been three days since the Queen had visited. Four days since Gerda had left. He had only barely managed to stop the Queen from killing Michael, and she left in anger. She would go and look for Gerda herself. Clearly she could trust no one.

Sighing, Rumpelstiltskin didn't feel like doing anything. Even turning straw into gold sounded dull. He had been like this for a few days. When he had Gerda, he felt he had a sense of purpose, even though he was willing to give her to the Evil Queen in exchange for Michael. But only so that he could make another deal with the man, which would involve Gerda.

"I shouldn't have let her go." Rumpelstiltskin regretted, throwing his covers off of him. He felt weak, he felt empty. He felt pity. He hadn't felt those three things in a long time. Sighing again, he rose from his bed, and walked down the hall.

On the dining room table, Rumpelstiltskin noticed the wand, and lifted it into his hands. It had many useful purposes. He could turn people into different things with it. He could even locate others.

Twiddling it through his fingers, he almost dropped it. "I could locate Gerda!" He yelled. It was simple enough. All Rumpelstiltskin had to do was grab a piece of DNA from someone who was related to Gerda, then the wand would become a tracker, starting out white and turning purple when it found Gerda.

Looking down at it, he smiled. "I will find you, Gerda."

The plan was simple enough: break into the Queen's castle and get a sample of Michael's hair, or just get Michael out. Problem was, the Queen had his heart locked away, and when the Queen would find out about Michael's escape, she would crush his heart.

Pacing the room, Rumpelstiltskin had to come up with a plan. One that wouldn't kill Michael, but that would get Gerda back. But how could he do that? He could make a deal with Michael, then find Gerda. Or he could kill Michael, and blame the Queen. Shaking his head, Rumpelstiltskin knew cruelty would help no one in this situation.

Sighing, he sat down on a nearby chair. He wondered what Gerda would do in a situation like this, and knew the answer immediately. "She would go after her father. Because she is a hero." He stated. Maybe he should try the hero thing. It worked for Snow White. As well as Prince Charming.

Getting up, Rumpelstiltskin knew what he needed to do. But only half would get done.

"You'll be happy to know that your daughter has escaped me yet again." The Queen admitted. She had Michael sit on a chair in her throne room, and watched him as he struggled to sit himself into a comfortable position. He had just been punished by Regina's men, and he was in pain.

However, when Michael heard of his daughter's escape, his soul leapt for joy. "I told you Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't fail me." He said triumphantly.

However, much to Michael's surprise, the Queen laughed. "Oh no dear, Rumpelstiltskin did fail. Both of us." When Michael looked utterly confused, the Queen rolled her eyes. "You see, I asked Rumpelstiltskin to hand Gerda over, or you would die. And he quite agreed to hand her over to me, in order to keep you alive. For what purpose I don't know. But then the idiot lets the girl escape, and why you are alive still I don't know!"

With that, the Queen stormed off, wanting to watch more torture. Michael looked down into his lap, trying to grasp at the straw that was Rumpelstiltskin's reasoning. Why did he want Michael alive? What had he done? Unless…..

And Michael knew. He knew why Rumpelstiltskin wanted him alive. So he could make another deal with Michael about Gerda. Since she had escaped, the deal was broken, and since Michael wasn't safe in the first place, as the deal was supposed to be, it was very weak.

So now, with Gerda gone, Rumpelstiltskin needed Michael in order to make another deal.

"The coward!" Michael cried. He could only assume the worst. Thoughts ran through Michael's head about how Rumpelstiltskin would want to use Gerda. He knew that she would be safe within the first deal, but what about the second? And then again, Michael had a strong feeling that Gerda was already put into danger, and somehow he imagined a dragon involved.

Helped by guards, Michael was half dragged and half carried down into the dungeon, where he laid in his cell and wondered. He missed Gerda terribly, and he hoped that she was alright. His only comfort was that he knew how clever Gerda was. She had inherited that gift from her mother.

Gerda sat on the carpet in front of her rented bed. She poured over a book of magic that the Mayor Gardbor had lent her, and practised different techniques when nobody was looking. So far, she had been able to lift certain objects and move things around, but she still had trouble doing this without saying anything. Rumpelstiltskin was in the middle of teaching her about that technique when she had run away.

Gerda's throat tightened. She missed staying in the manor, not having to be scared of the Queen coming to hurt her. But now that she was in the village, she always had to look behind her back every few minutes. The Queen's guards patrolled the streets every so often, making Gerda flee into the woods. The whole village agreed that their top priority was to keep Gerda safe and out of sight, which Gerda did not want. She wanted to help the others rebuild their homes and lives, but the Mayor kept her locked away as if she was sick and contagious.

Sighing, Gerda turned the page of her book, and read about an old warlock being able to set an entire castle ablaze without lifting a finger or saying a word, when there was a knock at her door.

"Come in." Gerda stated, without looking up from her book. She heard a young voice, quivering in the sight of her.

"The mayor wants to see you." With that, the door to Gerda's room was shut quickly, leaving Gerda to wonder who had even knocked. Getting up, Gerda waltzed over to the door and opened it. She gasped slightly, as more than just the mayor had wanted to see her. It looked as if half the village had come to her door.

"Can I help you?" Gerda asked, still overwhelmed. She could see worried expressions shared on many of the townspeople's faces, and she could see a man in the back kept looking to the door, as if expecting someone else.

The mayor spoke up from the back of the crowd, and made his way forward. "Gerda. Sweet Gerda.' He started. This didn't sound good. "It has come to our attention that the Queen has sent a search party to look for you three times this week alone."

Gerda couldn't help but snicker. "And you didn't notice this before? Yeah, I'm pretty much the most wanted "criminal' at the moment, other than Snow White." Gerda stated. She didn't like the idea of making herself sound important, but then again, saying she was a highly wanted criminal didn't sound very nice.

The mayor sighed. "Look, Gerda. The Queen has just sent a message all across the villages within a ten mile radius of Rumpelstiltskin's manor." At the name Rumpelstiltskin, many of the people shuddered. The mayor ignored this, and continued. "Here's the deal: she had proposed that any village who brings you in will receive a huge award."

Gerda noticed the greedy looks on the villagers' faces. She could see lust in their eyes, and betrayal in their hearts. Wondering how she had not seen them before, Gerda now saw that most of the villagers were armed.

"And you want to turn me in." Gerda finished the mayor's thoughts. She knew she had, because he slowly nodded.

Gerda sighed, and walked back into her bedroom, closing the door. She had to act quickly. There was no reasoning with these people. They had lost their minds. Racing around the room, Gerda picked up all her essentials, including the book she had been given by people she thought were her friends. Placing all her essentials in her bag, she tied up her cloak around her neck and strapped her sword to her side.

The people became restless outside her door, and barged inside. Gerda was perched on the window. "See reason, Mayor Gardbor." Gerda pleaded. "The Queen is using you. I will be tortured and killed, while it will not become any better for you."

She could see the guilt in the mayor's face. "Gerda, you don't understand. You are merely a child…"

This made Gerda step off the ledge. She could see most of the others back away from her. They were scared. She seemed to have a lot in common with the Queen. "I may just be a child, but I understand. You want your people to be safe. So do I. I hoped for more loyalty towards me and my father, after all we have done for you." Gerda spat.

"Gerda, when have you been there for us?" Mayor Gardbor asked. "You ran after your father was captured. We were tortured."

"So was I!" Gerda exclaimed. "I felt horrible for leaving you all. But I had no choice. If we join together, we can fight against the Queen, and take her down." Gerda explained, but no one would listen.

"I'm sorry, Gerda." The mayor stated. The townspeople swarmed forwards.

Gerda sighed. "So am I." She felt the familiar warmth of magic in her hands.

It was a full week before Regina received any news from the villages. Then one day, a guard came up to her chambers, dragging two people behind him. One of them was a villager from Gerda's village, the other was the mayor.

"Captives from the criminal's village, your majesty." The knight introduced, throwing them onto the ground. They immediately began to bow. "Your majesty." Mayor Gardbor began to whimper, but he was cut off by Regina's hand gesture.

"Why are you here, gentlemen?" Regina asked, sitting down on a nearby chair. "Do you have word of the girl?" She asked.

Before either of the men could speak on their behalf, the guard piped up: "Your majesty, these men are here because they were on the run. They lost the girl after a fight broke out in their village. She beat fifty strong men with her magic alone." The knight explained. The Queen nodded, and the knight went back to his position at the door.

Regina looked down at the men, her voice sickly sweet. "So, you were trying to escape me?" Regina asked sweetly. She trailed her finger across the face of the other man, leaving mayor Gardbor to whimper.

"You didn't want to be punished? Well, I'm afraid no one can escape me." With that, Regina reached into the man's chest and pulled out his heart. He gasped out in pain, but ceased a moment later. His lifeless body fell to the ground in a heap.

Regina turned to mayor Gardbor, smiling wickedly. "And you, Gardbor. I assign you the task of bringing your village together to capture this girl, and you fail me!" She slapped him hard across the face, making him fall.

"Your majesty, please. Give me another chance." He pleaded, seeing her hand reach for his chest.

Her fingers paused. "No, I will not give worthless peasants more chances." She drew close to his face. "But I will let them be tortured."

Michael didn't even stir until he felt the hand upon his shoulder. "Wake up, deary!" Michael shot forwards, awakening from a nightmare. He looked in the darkness of the dungeon, and found another person in there with him.

"Sorry, it's pretty dark in here. Let me shine some light." Michael gasped. Rumpelstiltskin stood in front of him, holding a knife. It was covered in blood. Michael tried not to notice.

"What have you done?" Michael demanded, surprising Rumpelstiltskin by slapping him across the face.

Rumpelstiltskin merely shrugged, but did not return the gesture. "I am sorry about your daughter. But I am not the only traitor around here."

Moving to the side, Rumpelstiltskin revealed mayor Gardbor, who was cowering against the wall.

"Mayor!" Michael exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" But before Gardbor could explain, Rumpelstiltskin did it for him. "You see Michael, this man was offered a large reward for turning in your daughter to the Queen. So he sent all the men of the village to her door, and they tried to seize her."

Rumpelstiltskin gave the mayor a disgusted look. "Alas, they have failed, but he still must be punished for his crime."

Before Michael could react, Rumpelstiltskin took his knife and sliced, making the mayor drop to the ground.

"Why did you do that?" Michael exclaimed. "You are just as much a traitor as he is!"

"Was." Rumpelstiltskin corrected, wiping off the excess blood from his blade onto the mayor's shirt. "And now, onto more personal matters."

Grabbing Michael's arm, Rumpelstiltskin ran the blade lightly over his skin, making Michael wince.

"I am going to find your daughter, and we will free you." Rumpelstiltskin explained. "And then, you and I will make another deal."

Smiling to himself, Rumpelstiltskin turned to leave, but Michael interrupted him. "Why would I do that?"

Knowing he was referring to the deal, Rumpelstiltskin turned around, and smiled. "Because I will have Gerda." He giggled happily.


	15. Brotherhood

Chapter Fifteen: Brotherhood

"Niece?" Regina demanded. Henry had texted his mom and asked if he could meet her with Robin. She wasn't expecting this.

"I can explain, Mom." Henry defended, but Robin stopped him. "It's alright, lad. If anyone should explain, it's me." Robin looked into Regina's eyes. "Maybe we can send Henry and Roland down to Granny's for some food. I'm famished."

Regina agreed, and before Henry could say no, she held up her hand. "Henry, go."

He glared at his mother and stormed off, holding Roland's hand. Sighing, both adults sat down. "Now you have a lot of explaining to do." Regina stated. She was surprised that Robin had started to laugh. But she also noticed tears in his eyes.

"I was only ten." Robin started, and Regina could feel her anger towards him ebb away. Something terrible had happened to him.

"Michael and I were two years apart. He was twelve, and never let me forget it. We lived with our mother and father on the outskirts of our village. One day, the sky became overcast as Michael and I played. Then it hit. A huge tornado rushed through the skies. It had only happened once before, and I was still very small. We ran for cover, but I fell and tripped over a weed, twisting my ankle. Michael saw me, but before he could do anything he was picked up by our father, while another villager brought me to their home." Robin paused, clearing his throat. He had not told this story in a long time.

"I waited for about fifteen minutes with the family, and we watched the tornado pass. We were all safe. But suddenly, I heard a distant scream. My mother."

"I ran to our home, but I was too late." Robin began choking up. "The tornado lifted my home into the air, with my entire family inside. Michael couldn't get out, no matter how hard he tried. I screamed for him, but was pushed back. The winds were strong, and out of nowhere a branch knocked against my head, knocking me out. When I awoke, my home was gone, with all those I loved."

Robin let the tears stream down his face as he sat. Regina felt no more anger, only pity. "Robin, why didn't you tell me?" She asked. "I would have wanted to know." Regina stated calmly. She didn't know how to comfort him.

Robin sighed, and looked up. "I didn't want anyone to know. Even Marian had no idea. But now, I know that Michael didn't die. Something spared him, and he lived." Robin's face lit up in a smile. "I assumed for years that he was dead, but now that I know about Gerda, he has to be alive. And I need to find my niece."

Before Regina could tell Robin about Michael not returning, she felt her phone vibrate. There was a text from Belle. She needed Robin and Regina to meet her at the pawn shop.

"I just found out something else that is very interesting about the wand." Belle stated. She had two open books in front of her, with the wand in her hand. "It says that if you put a small bit of DNA on the tip of the wand, it will guide you to the person you are looking for." When Belle saw confused looks, she rolled her eyes.

"All we need is someone with the same DNA as Gerda. Which means, either of you would do." Belle said, smiling. But Robin was not. He turned to Regina. "Why didn't you tell me you were related to Gerda as well?" He asked.

Regina shrugged. "Because I still don't believe it. And to prove you all wrong…" Regina lifted up her sleeve, and finding a knife, she sliced. "I will put my blood on the wand. But I guarantee it will not lead to Gerda."

Belle smiled, and placed the wand against Regina's skin. The wand became pure white. "Now, it says in the book that the wand will turn purple when near Gerda." Belle explained. But I have found a way to make it lead us to her." Pulling out a small vial, Belle poured some horribly smelling green liquid onto the wand. The wand reacted to the green substance, and shot up into the air.

"Now, all we need to do is follow it." Belle stated. Robin and Belle followed the wand out the door. Still skeptical, Regina followed.

Henry knew this was against his better judgement, but he needed more clues. He left Roland with Granny, and was about to head over to Gerda's house when he heard two familiar voices behind him. "Henry!"

Looking behind him, Henry saw Mary Margaret and David running towards him, with Neil in tow. "Is it true about Robin and Gerda?" David questioned. "Are they related?"

"Yeah, Robin is Gerda's uncle." Henry assured him. He saw the looks of surprise on his family's faces. "After all we have been through, how can you two still be surprised about this?" Henry exclaimed. David shrugged. "Anyway, where are you headed? Regina texted me and told me that they had a lead on Gerda's location."

"Really?" Henry asked. "How?" While David explained about the wand, Mary Margaret went to leave the baby with Granny. She returned moments later. "We have to go after them, Henry." Mary Margaret stated.

Henry wanted to very badly, but shook his head. "I can't. I need to find out more about Gerda's family. We still have no idea who her mom is…"

David grasped Henry's shoulder, but before he could say anything, Mary Margaret towed Henry off. "That's a really good idea, Henry. But let us help you. Robin, Regina and Belle can take care of Gerda. This would mean a lot to her if she knew about the rest of her family."

With that said, Mary Margaret made David start the truck, and they drove off to Gerda's house on the edge of town.

Regina and Robin were right behind Belle as they followed the wand through the forest. It was going at a very fast pace, and Regina could feel her lungs press against her ribs. All she wanted to do was stop, but she knew that she needed to keep going. They needed to find Gerda.

Trying to find a way to pass the time, Regina decided to strike up a conversation with Robin. "So, what was Michael like?" She started. That question seemed innocent enough. Robin smiled a little. "Growing up, he was my hero. He always made sure I knew that he was my big brother, then played with me. As we got older, he started this small sort of gang, pretending that they were heroes who fought evil warlocks and wizards to save fair maidens."

"One day, I asked them if I could join, and the boys said no. I started to whine a bit, and one of the boys started to push me away, and then punch me. When Michael saw this…." Robin's smile faded from his lips. "He got very angry. He pulled the boy off of me and beat him down. I tried to get him to stop, and after a while he did. The other boys went to the injured boy's side, and helped him up. He was limping a little and cried, but he was alright. They all called Michael a git and walked away."

"I then became scared. I was scared that Michael was going to hurt me as well. But he brought me into a huge hug, whispering in my ear: 'I'll never let anyone else hurt you, Robin.' And then we became best friends. And that was the day he became my hero."

It looked as if Robin had more to say, but his story was interrupted by Belle's cry. "Gerda!"

Looking ahead of them, the wand dropped to the forest floor. Regina picked it up and stared at it. Her blood had found Gerda. Could it be…?

"Regina help!" Robin asked. Turning away from the wand, Regina ran to where Robin was. Gerda laid on the ground in a heap, her clothes dirty and her face cut. "What happened?" Regina asked. It looked as if Gerda had gotten into a fight.

Mimicking her thoughts, Belle called the hospital to get a hold of Dr. Whales. "He said we can bring her in." Belle stated, hanging up the phone. "But we need to be quick. He wants to see if Gerda has anything in her system."

Robin nodded, and scooped Gerda into her arms. "This isn't how I expected to me my niece for the first time." Robin admitted. He then gave Gerda a light kiss on her forehead. "It'll be alright, Gerda. I'm not going to let anything else happen to you. I promise."

Word spread quickly through the hospital that Gerda had been found. The nurses all spoke in hushed whispers about how Gerda was found, each person telling a different tale.

"She probably got mauled by a bear."

"No way, she must have faced Maleficent."

"Are you kidding me, she obviously made Regina jealous!"

As the nurses gossiped, Isaac sat near Zelena as they ate their lunch. It was very awkward indeed, as neither had ever met.

Isaac cleared his throat. "So, did you hear about the girl? Gerda?" Zelena looked up at Isaac, her face stern. "Why do you ask?" Zelena demanded. She didn't exactly want to be speaking to Isaac. He did almost help Regina murder her.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "I just wondered if you knew anything about the girl…"

"No!" Zelena snapped quickly. Looking up, she shovelled food into her mouth.

Isaac smiled. "Right. Well anyway, she is being brought up to the ward today." Isaac stated. Zelena looked at him curiously.

Suddenly, she dropped her fork, and clutched at her stomach. "Oh! Oh, nurse, the baby!" Zelena cried out. A swarm of nurses came to Zelena, and brought her upstairs. Somehow, Isaac believed her to be faking her pain.

Robin refused to leave Gerda's side. Having explained the situation to Dr. Whales, Regina waited with Belle outside in the waiting room. She thought it best that Robin have some time with his niece.

Belle looked at her phone, and told Regina she had to go back to the shop. But heading for the door she almost ran into someone.

"Sorry, Mother Superior." Belle said, before she left the room. Mother Superior came over to Regina's side, and sighed. "I'm sorry to hear about Gerda." She said. Regina nodded her thanks. She then noticed Robin look up, and see the two women. He patted Gerda's hand lightly, even though she was still unconscious, and came to the door.

"Can I help you, Mother?" Robin asked. Mother Superior sighed. "Yes, you can. I'm afraid that once Gerda wakes up, she will have to come with me."

Regina's mouth dropped open. "Why?" She demanded. Mother Superior sighed, and explained. "Since her father is gone and there is no other legal guardian, Gerda is officially an orphan. I need to take her back to the home in town."

Before she could turn to go, Robin grabbed her arm. "You don't understand." Seeing the look of outrage on Mother Superior's face, Robin let go. "Mother, Michael was my brother. Gerda is my niece. I can look after her." He begged, and Regina could see tears form in his eyes.

However, Mother Superior merely shook her head. "If Gerda was a normal child, I would agree completely. But as you have noticed, she isn't. Her powers are quite strong, and we need to find a way to contain them from her…."

"You want to take away her gift?" Regina questioned. "But it belongs to Gerda. You should leave her alone."

However, Mother Superior was on the defense. "Yes, but look at the damage she has caused. No one can say that she is safe. If we can contain her magic…"

"Which are other words to say take it away!" Regina yelled. "I forbid you to steal anything away from this girl!" Regina ordered. "Or you'll have me to face."

Mother Superior looked nervous, and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I will not take away her magic. But she needs proper care. Until we can help her control her magic." She started, before Robin could talk. "She will stay in the orphanage. Good day."

With that, Mother Superior walked away, leaving Robin and Regina to look at each other sadly. If only they had noticed another woman nearby, looking in on Gerda.


	16. Wide Awake

Chapter Sixteen: Wide Awake

"Hi cousin." Roland whispered in Gerda's ear. Robin had just explained to him who Gerda was, and how he was related to her. Regina and Robin watched as Roland gave Gerda a big kiss on the cheek, and then pushed some of her hair out of her face.

"Perfect." Regina said to Roland, scooping him up and pulling him out of Gerda's room. Looking past Robin, Regina gave a slight gasp. "Robin, it's her." She whispered. Robin looked behind him, and saw Zelena in a wheelchair, being brought in by Dr. Whales.

"She was suffering from pain in her abdomen." Dr. Whales explained. "I need to make sure it isn't anything serious."

Robin nodded, but he didn't want to have Roland and Regina nearby. "Why don't you two go down to Granny's, and I'll meet you there." He started to say, before Dr. Whales interrupted him. "There's no need for you to stay, Robin. I'll call you if I need you."

Robin nodded, and looked back at Gerda. "She'll be fine." Regina tried to assure him. But Robin wouldn't have it. "I just don't want her anywhere near Gerda." He stated, throwing his thumb in Zelena's direction. She placed her hand on her chest, as if mocked.

But Dr. Whales, knowing how important Gerda's safety was, placed his hand on Robin's shoulder. "I promise, she won't be anywhere near Zelena."

With that, he pushed the three out of the hospital rooms as Zelena cried out in more pain.

Henry saw his mom walk into the diner with Robin and Roland. "Hey mom." He called out, waving them over. David was back at the library with Mary Margaret, and Belle was looking after Neil. Regina sat down beside her son and gave him a kiss, while Roland sat beside his dad.

"What have you been up to?" Robin asked, very curious. Henry noted that Gerda showed the exact same curiosity. "I've just been looking through some more hand drawn photos. But I think these are ones that Gerda drew herself. She is quite good."

Looking at the examples Henry had laid out, Regina and Robin couldn't disagree. Gerda had taken different parts of a person's separate features, and detailed them thoroughly. Regina gazed at the picture of a pair of blue eyes when Henry noted something to Robin.

"Also, I found out something else." He shoved forward a piece of paper in Robin's direction. "It's Gerda birth certificate." Henry explained. "But not from this world. I can't tell where it's from."

Robin looked down, and gasped in surprise. Regina was worried, until she saw the smile on his face.

"Born May.21st, father is Michael Isaiah of Locksley. Her mother's name is smudged. And then…."

Regina heard him stop, but she saw tears in his eyes. "Her name, her full name, is Gerda Robyn of Locksley. He named his daughter after me."

Robin stared down at the sheet, and Regina patted his hand. Looking up, Robin wiped away his tears. "Well, I did the same thing. Roland's middle name is Michael, after my brother. I just didn't expect this. Even if he did use a different spelling for her name."

Henry and Regina could tell that that hardly mattered to Robin at all. Suddenly, Regina's phone vibrated, and looking at it, she saw a text from Dr. Whales.

"It's Gerda." She stated. "She's awake."

"Henry!" Gerda called out when she saw her best friend. He came to her bedside and lavished her in a strong hug. She didn't let go for a while.

"Why did you run away?" Henry asked, sitting down. He was soon joined by Regina and Robin, with Roland in tow.

Gerda looked down into her hands, where her hands were clasped. "I was scared. If people recognized my dad's name, they would remember the forest." With this, Gerda looked up at Regina, and was surprised to see her smile. "What happened in the past is in the past, Gerda. We started fresh." Regina assured her, patting her hand.

"And, there's something I need to tell you, Gerda." Robin sat down on the edge of Gerda's bed, holding her hand. "Your father never mentioned this, but he had a family once." Robin began.

"I know." Gerda said, but before she could continue, Robin held up his hand. "Well I know he mentioned that much, but did he say who he had as a family?" Gerda shook her head, and Robin smiled.

"Your father had a brother, who he assumed dead when he was only ten. I lost my brother when I was ten." Robin looked into Gerda's eyes as she caught on. "Are you telling me-?"

Robin laughed, tears streaming down his face. "Yes Gerda, your father and I were brothers. I'm your uncle."

"And I'm your cousin!" Roland piped up, jumping onto Gerda's lap. "I love you." He then wrapped his little arms around Gerda, and she returned the gesture.

"So, does this mean I have family?" Gerda asked, still overwhelmed, but smiling. Suddenly, her smile faded, and her gaze turned to Zelena, who wasn't too far away. "And the baby growing inside her…."

"Is your cousin, yes." Regina finished. "But don't worry. You won't have anything to do with Zelena. I promise."

Regina could see relief spread across Gerda's face, as she laid back against her pillows. Dr. Whales entered the room, and not far behind him was…

"Mother Superior." Gerda gasped, jolted. She hadn't expected so many visitors. Mother Superior smiled. "I'm supposing Regina and your uncle didn't tell you?" She asked.

"Tell me what?" Gerda questioned. Sighing, Mother Superior explained. "Gerda, your father has been missing for a year, and you are alone. Until a legal guardian can be found…"

"Which is my uncle!" Gerda exclaimed, sitting up. "He can take care of me!"

"No he cannot!" Mother Superior exclaimed with the same tone. "Because you cannot control your magic, and you are deemed unsafe! Until you can control your gift, you must come with me."

But Gerda wasn't going to give up so quickly. "And what if I refuse?" She dared to ask, looking Mother Superior straight in the eye.

But Mother Superior stared right back. "There isn't that option, sweetheart."

"This isn't fair!" Henry argued, as he and Regina left the hospital. Robin wanted some time with his family, and Regina could respect that. As she walked out the main doors, she saw, for the first time ever, a huge smile on Gerda's face. She knew it would melt away the moment she had to leave, though.

"I know Henry. Which is why I am going to start training Gerda."

Henry turned to his mother, stopping in his tracks. "Seriously? You're going to train her? That's great!" Henry smiled. Regina wasn't exactly expecting that answer, but it was better than nothing. The two of them decided that they would come up with a schedule for Gerda to have to help her train. She would be leaving the hospital that night, so they didn't have a whole lot of time.

A few hours passed, and Henry, along with Regina, walked up to the hospital doors. They saw Gerda start to leave with Mother Superior.

"Gerda!" Regina called out. The girl responded in a very frightened fashion, which made Regina believe that she had done something horrible to her in her past. Shaking away the thought, she shoved a hand- made book into her hands.

"Here. These are techniques you should look over. I will begin training you next week." Regina stated, smiling. "If that is alright, Mother Superior?"

Knowing she wouldn't find an argument, she gave Gerda a fleeting hug, and walked off, having promised Mary Margaret that she and Henry would come for dinner.

The woman watched Gerda and Mother Superior walk out the hospital doors. Coming to a halt, Mother Superior opened the passenger door of her car, allowing Gerda to step inside. She grabbed the girl's bag and placed it on the backseat. She then got into the car herself, turning it on and driving away.

"Now what?" The woman asked herself, sighing. She blew one of her blonde hairs out of her face. "Time is running out."

Looking down at her pendant, the woman gave the hospital a fleeting worried look, then turned on the spot, disappearing in a white puff of smoke.

However, what the woman didn't interpret was Zelena looking through the window, watching the woman. "How did she get here?" Zelena questioned, rubbing her stomach. If she knew about Zelena's baby….

Shaking away the worry, she looked back to the bed where Gerda had been lying. Robin stood at it, Roland's hand tightly grasped in his.

"How is Gerda?" Zelena asked, very innocently. She just wanted to know more. She could hardly care about the girl.

"Don't you dare mention her name!" Robin spat, looking angrily into Zelena's eyes. "Leave my niece out of this."

"Sorry." Zelena apologized, faking. She wasn't sorry at all. She could care less. She only cared about herself, and her plans. Such as ruining Regina's life, which she had accomplished by becoming pregnant by Robin.

Rubbing her stomach again, Zelena looked in the direction the car was going, and smiled. Now she knew.


	17. Reflection

Chapter Seventeen: Reflection

 _Her lungs were about to burst. But she could hear the Queen behind her. Yet whenever she looked behind her, the Queen hadn't moved._

 _Closing her eyes, Gerda imagined herself far away, and upon opening her eyes, Gerda found herself in the Enchanted Forest. She paused for a rest, until. "How are you, deary?"_

 _Looking behind her, Gerda gasped. The Evil Queen stood behind her, laughing. "Did you really think you could escape me so easily? I am everywhere you go, dear." She smiled wickedly._

 _Gerda, who was still trying to catch her breath, pondered what the Queen had said. "How?"_

 _Regina looked at the girl, lowering her head and giving a devilish smile. "Because I am you."_

 _"No!" Gerda refused. "I am nothing like you!" She released her hand, aiming for Regina. However, when she hit her target, all she found was glass, which didn't break._

 _Confused, Gerda stepped forward slightly, and pressed her whole hand against the glass. It was a mirror._

 _"Weird." Gerda said aloud, and she heard a laugh again. One that was quite familiar._

 _Looking more closely into the glass, the image projected changed from the Evil Queen to Gerda, and she was smiling._

 _But as Gerda smiled back, she saw her reflection's smile turn wicked. Grinning, Gerda's reflection changed her appearance. Her clothes became dark, her simple shirt and pants becoming a dress, her woodland cape now something more sinister._

 _And with one last look, Gerda's reflection turned into the Queen once more. "Told you." She snickered._

Gerda woke up with a start, her body covered in sweat. Realizing it was only a dream, she was able to calm herself down. She looked around her, remembering the night before. She had run for a few hours, taking breaks to walk as well. After a little while, Gerda had come across a nearby pub, and asked for a room, lying about her age.

Catching her breath, which was now even, Gerda sat up, and started to get changed. She needed to get on the road as early as possible. There wasn't a whole lot of time before the sun came up. Checking herself over in the mirror so as to make sure she didn't see the Evil Queen, Gerda nodded in confidence, and walked downstairs.

She looked around the bar, noticing many men and woman still drunk from the night before. Rolling her eyes, she paid the man behind the bar, and left without a word.

Walking for a few hours, Gerda came to rest at a nearby oak tree, which was claimed to be the largest in all the realm. Gerda didn't believe that, but it did give nice shade away from the sun. Sitting down on the cool grass, Gerda placed her head in her lap.

What was she going to do? The Queen was still after her, she abandoned Rumpelstiltskin, and her father was most likely dead. Feeling tears stream down her cheeks, Gerda let herself cry. What was the point in hiding it any longer? It wasn't as if anyone could see her. Or so she thought.

"Surprise deary!"

Whirling around, Gerda gasped. "How did you find me?" She questioned, for standing before her was none other than Rumpelstiltskin. He gave her a swift bow, and held out the wand. "With a little help from your father." Rumpelstiltskin stated, and the way he said it made Gerda seem to think he had forgotten her abandonment.

But something else was more important. "My father's alive?" Gerda asked, astonished. She hadn't seen him in over a month, she expected him to be dead.

However, Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "That's right, deary! And we need to rescue him before it's too late!"

Rumpelstiltskin stuck out his hand, as if demanding Gerda to shake it. But she didn't budge. "Why should I trust you?" She questioned, backing away. "You were going to sell me out to the Queen!"

Rumpelstiltskin looked at Gerda, then at his hand. "Does this mean we aren't going to shake?" Looking to Gerda's lack of an answer as an answer, he let his hand fall to his side.

"What happened with the Queen was just so I could keep your father alive…"

"So you could make another deal! What if he doesn't want another deal? What if I don't?" Gerda demanded.

But Rumpelstiltskin was quick with an answer. "Well I'm afraid neither of you have a choice! You need inside that castle in order to rescue your father, and I am the only person who could get you inside."

Gerda waved her hand, waving away his suggestion. "In case you didn't remember, I have magic. I can get in myself."

But Rumpelstiltskin merely laughed. "You and she are so much alike."

That really set Gerda off. "Take that back!" And before she could help it, magic came out from Gerda's fingertips, but that didn't catch Rumpelstiltskin off guard. He merely stepped out of the way, grinning. Looking at the scorch marks Gerda made on a tree, he smiled. "Told you so."

Regina had the body of the deceased mayor taken out of the castle. She didn't need that in her prison cell. Sighing, she stared at her magic mirror, more frustrated than ever.

"How is it that the people I want most always escape me?" She asked, more mournfully than anything. If no one knew that she was referring to those who escape her pain, people might feel sorry for her.

"They escape because they know what will be their fate if they stay near." The mirror answered. The Queen looked up at him, her face in an angry glare.

"All their fate would be is punishment for defying their Queen." She answered bitterly. "Am I not right to punish them? Snow White is a fugitive, and I cannot have this girl become more powerful than me! If the kingdom knows of her power, they will seek to defy me."

The mirror nodded his head in agreement. "But would you find them justified to defy your power? I mean, are you not known as the Evil Queen?" He asked. The Queen shook her head.

"It matters not how they see me. I only need the girl for her powers. Once they realize that Gerda agrees with me…."

The mirror finished her thought. "They will trust and obey you." He said, smiling. "But seeing as the only people who know of Gerda's powers are a village full of fear and your enemy Rumpelstiltskin…."

The Queen gasped. "The people will not obey me. They will defy me even more." As she pondered this, another thought came to mind. Her expression spread into one of hate. "If they will not obey me in love, I will have them obey me in fear."

She laughed mirthlessly. Standing, she looked into another enchanted mirror. "And as for Gerda, I have a special gift for her." Smiling, the Evil Queen set a spell upon the mirror. "This spell with put doubt within the girl's mind. All I need is the blood of a relative."

Summoning her guards to fetch Michael, the Queen waited with a knife in her hand, and as Michael came up, she noticed a cut on Michael's arm. "Where did you acquire that?" The Queen demanded, but she decided to forget about it. "Never mind." Coming to Michael's arm, she made him bleed. He grit his teeth in pain as she placed the knife against the smooth surface of the mirror. "Now, let's see how Gerda feels now."

Gerda had no idea what to do. Should she trust Rumpelstiltskin? Or should she place her trust in her father? Then again, her father had trusted Rumpelstiltskin. Maybe she should as well. She had no idea.

"You know, your father really missed you." Rumpelstiltskin stated. "I think this would be good for you to join me."

Gerda rolled her eyes. "I miss him to." Sighing, she nodded. "Okay, I'll join you." Rumpelstiltskin clapped, and Gerda stood up, pointing her finger at him. "But let's make one thing clear. I am doing this to save my father. Seems I have no other choice."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed. "No, you don't. Anyway, welcome aboard! Now, let's come up with a plan!" He waved his hand enthusiastically, and Gerda smiled, walking behind him.

Suddenly, a pain entered Gerda's head. "Ow!" She cried out, rubbing her head. Rumpelstiltskin looked back at Gerda, and a worried expression crept across his face. "Gerda, what's that on your forehead?" He question, coming to her side.

Gerda moved her hand, and looking at it, she gasped. Blue liquid was smeared across her hand. "What's going on?" She asked, scared. Rumpelstiltskin looked at her hand, his face grave. "The Queen must have used her enchanted mirror, to mark you."

Gerda looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean marked?" But before Rumpelstiltskin could answer, Gerda felt immensely sleepy, and fell to the forest floor in a heap.

"Oh no." Rumpelstiltskin gritted, as he carried Gerda through the forest. "I'll just get her home…."

"Not so fast, Rumpelstiltskin." Rumpelstiltskin looked around, and saw five of the Queen's guards on horses.

"We'll take the girl." The first guard stated, coming closer. But Rumpelstiltskin merely laughed. He placed Gerda done behind him. "This will only take a minute, deary."

Facing his opponents, Rumpelstiltskin bowed, and as he heard his opponents draw near, smiled. "This is going to be fun!"

However, what Rumpelstiltskin didn't realize was that the guards were merely a distraction. Creeping up behind him, the Huntsman who failed to kill Snow White scooped up Gerda into his arms. "I've got you now Gerda. It'll be alright." He whispered. Creeping away from the fight, the Huntsman started to run, keeping as much distance from the others as possible.

He knew Gerda would be safest with Rumpelstiltskin, but seeing as she was unconscious and unable to protect herself while he fought, the Huntsman took over. He knew Rumpelstiltskin would slay the other men, and hoped on that fact as he ran. He would summon him later to where Gerda laid. She was just too much out in the open for his comfort.

Halting at another large tree, the Huntsman placed Gerda down, and noticed how she shook. Assuming she was cod he was about to give her a jacket, until he saw the blue ink on her forehead. "The enchanted mirror." He gasped. "Oh no."

Gerda opened her eyes, and saw nothing. Scared she had gone blind, she rubbed her head, and then her eyes. Standing up, she looked ahead of her, and saw a distant light. As she walked towards it, it started to form into a tunnel shape, and Gerda walked through.

She ended up within a beautiful castle ballroom, with men and women dancing all around her. They wore beautiful ball gowns and handsome suits. Gerda smiled, and looking down she noticed she was wearing a light blue dress, her hair tied back into a beautiful ponytail.

Walking forward, Gerda looked to the throne, but she wasn't able to see who sat there. Suddenly, people swarmed all around her. They pushed against her sides and arms, pressing into her space. All of them talked at the same time.

"Please help us! You're our only hope!"

Gerda tried to move away, but felt herself pushed up to the throne. As she came closer, she saw no one sitting there. It was empty. "Who is the royal in charge?" Gerda asked.

A man came close to her, and she recognized him as King Leopold, who had recently died. "You are, my Queen." He stated, placing a crown on Gerda's head. She stared upwards at him to question his reasons, when he moved away from her, and disappeared into the crowd.

"Wait!" She called, chasing after him. She followed him out of the ballroom, and all the way out into an open courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard stood an apple tree full of fruit. Gerda smiled, never having seen something so calming.

Hearing distant screams behind her, Gerda ran back to the ballroom. All the people were gathered around one person, who was kneeling on the ground. Her hands were burned the same colour Gerda's were every time she used magic. The woman was crying, trying to keep people back. But they pressed in on her, calling out: "Vicious! Take her away! She cannot control her magic! Kill her!"

Gerda ran forward, keeping the people back. "Keep away! It's not her fault, leave her alone." But the people pressed in even more, grabbing at Gerda's arms and legs. "Stop!" Gerda screamed, pushing her hands out. Magic came flying, throwing people back.

They all started to scream, and ran away from Gerda. Looking back to the woman, Gerda kneeled down to her side, helping her up.

"Are you okay?" Gerda asked. The woman's expression, however, was unknown to Gerda. Her hood blocked any emotion. Removing the hood, Gerda gasped.

"The Evil Queen." Gerda breathed out. Turning on her heal, Gerda tried to run, but say all the people around her come closer. The guests swarmed her like bugs, grabbing at her. She tried to break free, but couldn't physically. She would have to use magic.

"Please stop!" Gerda tried to reason, but it didn't work. Sighing, Gerda pushed out her hands again, letting the magic fly. The people moved away, leaving her alone.

"You see, Gerda. They will never accept you. Because you and I are better than them." The Queen came to Gerda's side, placing her hand on her shoulder. Gerda tried to shake it away, but found no strength to do so.

"Come, let's walk." The Queen beckoned, bringing Gerda along beside her. Gerda couldn't resist. Her feet wouldn't move in the opposite direction. She was trapped. Walking beside the Queen, Gerda could see another person standing close by, and he was wearing a cloak. Watching the two woman pass, he began to follow.

Gerda felt uncomfortable at his presence, but the Queen didn't even notice. Then out of nowhere, everything went black.

"Hello?" Gerda called out. She was no longer in a light blue dress. Instead, she wore a simple white shirt with long sleeves, and a pair of black pants. She wore light brown boots, and her hair was let down, so that it slid down her back.

Two lights appeared in front of her. One contained the Evil Queen, the other the man in the cloak. The Queen looked at the man in the cloak like Gerda did, but shook her head. She then turned to Gerda.

"We are both mirrors. In one of us you will see your reflection. Choose wisely." The Queen stated.

Rumpelstiltskin came to the Huntsman side as he watched Gerda. His hands were dirty, and he washed them off in a nearby stream. "How is she?" He asked the Huntsman.

The Huntsman shook his head. "Not good. She's been shaking for an hour, and I cannot get her to stop." He replied.

"Well, you better get to the castle." Rumpelstiltskin stated, but the Huntsman shook his head. "I cannot go alone. I need the girl. Or else, the Queen will have both our heads."

Rumpelstiltskin looked at the Huntsman and then to Gerda. "I cannot let her go-" He began.

"Look." The Huntsman started, interrupting him. "Gerda's father is going to be killed if we don't do what the Queen says. We need Gerda. But I promise she will be safe."

Again, Rumpelstiltskin looked to Gerda, and nodded. "Fine. Take her to the Queen."

The Evil Queen watched the carriage come up to the palace. She saw the Huntsman take Gerda out, and carry her into the castle.

Coming to her room, the Huntsman bowed, and held Gerda out. "Here she is." He said, holding back tears.

The Queen smiled wickedly, stroking a hair out from Gerda's face. "Excellent. Phase one is complete."

The Huntsman placed Gerda on a nearby couch, laying her down. The Queen came over and looked down at Gerda, smiling at her prize. "Your mind is mine."


	18. Witch Napped

Chapter Eighteen: Witch Napped

It had been a week since Gerda had been taken to the orphanage, and Henry missed her terribly. She had been taken out of school so she could go to therapy sessions that she apparently needed. Well, according to Mother Superior. But Henry had heard from Dr. Archie Hopper that things were going well, and that Gerda enjoyed getting things off chest.

What Henry was really looking forward to was that Gerda was allowed a weekend with her family, so Robin, Roland and Gerda were going to stay with Regina and Henry. Henry knew this meant a lot to Robin, to be able to spend time with his niece. He wasn't allowed to go to the orphanage and visit, which people thought unfair. But since some of the other children didn't have any family to come and visit them, Mother Superior didn't want Gerda getting any special treatment.

Running home from school that Friday afternoon, Henry ran inside the house to make a list of snacks he and his mom would need to get. He called it Gerda's list.

"Let's see, we have eggs and bacon, Gerda's favourite breakfast. Different types of lunch meat, and chips. Oh, and let's not forget the candy and drinks!" henry said aloud, smiling.

"What're you up to, kid?" Henry looked behind him, surprised to see his grandfather. "Oh, hey Grandad." Henry responded. "I'm making a list of food that mom and I need to get for when Gerda Robin and Roland come to stay."

David nodded, and looked at the list. "Tell you what. Something has come up at work with your mom and she wanted me to keep an eye on you. Why don't we go and get those groceries?" David asked.

Henry smiled. "As long as I can drive."

Gerda packed and repacked her bag. She was so excited to be able to go and visit Henry! She had made sure to pack all her drawings and books, board games. She was really happy that Robin and Roland would be spending the weekend as well. She would rather go out to a cottage or somewhere else, but this was the best offer.

As Gerda looked over her list of supplies, Mother Superior came into Gerda's room. "How's the packing going?" She asked sweetly. Gerda gave her a look and shrugged. She continued to pack.

Mother Superior sighed. "Look Gerda, I'm sorry you have to stay here.."

"You could change that by letting me live with my uncle." Gerda interrupted. "How would I be a trouble there?" She asked.

"It's not that you're trouble." Mother Superior answered. "It's the fact that you need to be able to control your magic properly. And until then…."

"I'm stuck in prison." Gerda finished, sighing. She sat down on the bed, remembering the book that Regina gave her. She hid it under the covers, away from Mother Superior's glance. She was scared that Mother Superior wouldn't let Regina train Gerda.

Knowing she couldn't say anything more, Mother Superior led the way downstairs to where Regina would pick Gerda up. Gerda picked up her book from under her covers and shoved it into her bag, heading downstairs as well.

Waiting in the lobby for a while, a woman came to the door. Assuming she was here to visit another child, Gerda continued to read her book. But the woman halted in front of Gerda.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" Mother Superior asked, smiling.

The woman smiled back, and pointed at Gerda. "I need her." She stated abruptly, grinning. "And I cannot wait." Without another word, the woman blew onto her hand, and sent some dust at Mother Superior. Mother Superior fell on the spot, and Gerda stood up, clutching her bag in her hand. "What do you want with me?" She asked, nervous.

The woman smiled still, looking back at Gerda. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see." She then blew onto her hand again, this time at Gerda. Everything went black.

Regina was looking over some old files when Robin and Roland came in. She was looking over some of Gerda's information, to see if anything would come up with the name of her mother. Regina thought it was the least she could do to find Gerda's mother.

Roland ran over to Regina and gave her a huge hug, giggling like any little boy would. She returned the gesture, and let him play over at her table.

Robin beamed down at her. "Hello Regina." He said, holding out a coffee. "I thought you might be thirsty." He answered. She accepted the coffee graciously, drinking it lightly. "I've been checking over different sources of information that could bear Gerda's mother's name…." She stated.

"And?" Robin asked. Regina shook her head. "Nothing. Whoever she was, she wasn't exactly one who wanted to be known. I'm sorry Robin."

"Why apologize? You're doing more for the girl than I am, and I'm her uncle." Robin stated, waving away the apology. "Anyway, are you soon wanting to leave and get her? I thought Roland and I could tag along."

Regina smiled. "Let me grab my jacket."

The car ride to the orphanage was about twenty minutes, and when they arrived Roland had fallen asleep in the car. Since it was a cool day, they decided to leave him to sleep, and Regina and Robin walked up the steps to the orphanage.

When they entered the building, however, they noticed Mother Superior sitting down on a chair, crying. Gerda was nowhere in sight. "What's the matter Mother Superior?" Robin asked, kneeling down beside her so he was at eye level. Regina went off in search of Gerda.

Mother Superior looked up at Robin. "Oh Robin, I'm so sorry." She started, before she began to sob again. Robin chuckled a little. "Sorry for what?" He asked.

His answer, however, came with Regina. She held a note in her hand, and Gerda's backpack, which had been rifled through. "Gerda's gone."

"Why would she run away again?" Henry asked David, as they walked up the steps to the orphanage. All the other children had been taken to Granny's diner as a treat, paid for by Regina. David sighed. "I got a text from your mom saying that Gerda didn't run away." He admitted.

Henry looked confused. "Then how come she isn't…"

"Because she was kidnapped." Regina answered, meeting her son out on the front steps. "Someone was after Gerda, and this time, it wasn't me apparently." She added, not really clear on what happened in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry shook his head. "Who would want Gerda?" Henry demanded of himself, trying to sort through all the information he had. "Does anyone else know about her magic?"

Regina pondered this, and her face fell crest fallen. "Isaac. He certainly knows, Gerda attacked him. And then there's…."

"Zelena." David finished, but Henry was still thinking. "Hold on, there's something I remember." He said, looking to his family. "I was out visiting Gerda's house about a week back, when someone attacked me. It was a woman dressed in white." Henry stated.

"You were attacked?" Regina demanded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I'm telling you now." Henry retorted. He regretted his attitude, but his best friend had just been kidnapped. He wanted to find whoever had her and take them down.

Regina sighed, and patted Henry's shoulder. "We'll find her, Henry."

Sighing, Henry said something about needing some time alone, and headed off on his own. But what he didn't state was that he needed to get to his aunt. And quick.

Henry arrived at the hospital a few minutes later, having run quite quickly. He went down into the "crazy ward" and entered Zelena's cell. He was surprised to see Isaac there with her.

"We need to talk." Henry stated, keeping the wand hidden behind his back. He had grabbed it from Belle's bag when he entered the hospital. She was just leaving.

"What do you need, dear nephew?" Zelena asked, rubbing her stomach. Henry stepped sideways awkwardly, but he still couldn't avoid it: Zelena was pregnant. He was going to have to get use to the fact that he was going to have a cousin.

Shaking away the painful thought, Henry got back on track. "Gerda's been kidnapped." Henry blurted out, finding he had no power over his tongue. Zelena looked shocked, but smiled. "Perhaps she had gotten on your mother's bad side, and faced the price." She stated clearly. "People often do get on her bad side easily.

Henry bite his tongue. He needed Zelena's help. He didn't want to upset her. Sighing, Henry explained. "Look, Gerda has been kidnapped and I have a feeling where she is being held. I just need to know where your old house is." It was true, Henry had no idea where Zelena once lived. He had never been there, but since it was the only empty house in StoryBrooke other than Gerda's, it was a good place to start.

Zelena looked confusingly at Henry. "Why on earth would she be held there?" Zelena asked. Henry could tell she was hiding something. He was too. Since the wand told that Gerda was related to both Robin and Regina, there was a large chance that Gerda was related to Zelena as well, unless Gerda's mother was from Regina's father's side, Henry Mills.

Ignoring this, Henry continued. "Because Gerda has a connection to Regina, and she may have a connection to you too." Henry blurted out yet again. He knew he would be kicking himself later for telling Zelena all this.

However, this information spiked the attention of Isaac. Of course he was curious about Gerda: she was a storybook character that no one had expected, like Emma.

"Related to Zelena, eh?" He asked. Henry ignored him. Turning back to his aunt, he began to plead. "I need to find Gerda. What do you want?"

Zelena pouted her lips in thought, and smiled. "When you find Gerda, I want to meet her." She held out her hand for Henry to shake to confirm the deal. Biting his tongue, Henry shook his aunt's hand. He knew what he had done was wrong, but he had no choice.

Henry returned to the orphanage, catching Robin as he was walking out the door. "Where are you going?" Henry asked.

"I'm going to look for Gerda." Robin responded. Henry could see tears in his eyes. Henry grabbed onto his arm. "Look, I have an idea of where Gerda could be." He stated, and he explained his thinking to Robin. Surprising Henry, Robin agreed. "If Gerda is related to Zelena, that could explain a few things. But it's a start."

Henry nodded, and went to get his mom. Finding her, he told her all about his plan, and confessed, much to Regina's dismay, he had gone to visit Zelena again. "I know you told me not to go but I had no choice." Henry stated.

"Okay, let's just get this over with." Regina stated. She had to admit, ever since Emma had disappeared, more and more trouble had sprouted up all around town. Other problems were occurring. Even she had to admit: without Emma, things were going bad.

As Regina drove her car to Zelena's house, she wondered how Emma would feel about Gerda. Trying to think like her, Regina felt that Emma would feel sorry for Gerda, what with all the power she held. But then again, since Emma had turned evil, perhaps she would be just like the Evil Queen when she saw power: she would try to use it or take it.

Sighing, Regina turned into the driveway, and pulled out a gun. She had taken it from Emma, and learned how to use it. Robin had his bow and arrows on him, while Henry protruded the wand. That wasn't going to help, but he had nothing else.

Knowing there was no use in trying to ask Henry to stay in the car, they crept up to the house. They could hear one voice inside, most likely talking to herself.

"Where is that spell book? We need to leave now, before anyone finds out." She whispered. Regina couldn't hear Gerda's voice, which worried her. "Perhaps she's asleep?" Robin suggested, but Regina shook her head. "Gerda wouldn't fall asleep during a kidnapping. She's not that stupid."  
Deciding she couldn't wait any longer, Regina breathed in deeply, and went to the front door. She shook the knob, not surprised it was locked. Robin decided to pick the lock instead, not wanting to cause attention.

Opening the door slightly, he slipped inside with Regina right behind him with magic defense, while Henry took the back. Regina had slipped him the gun. Breathing in hard, Robin walked forward, trying to listen to anything that could help him.

"I'll go." Regina whispered, before Robin could do anything else. He nodded slowly, and let Regina slip past him.

Looking into the living room, Regina could see Gerda laid down on the couch. She was obviously knocked out. This kid has sure caused a lot of problems. Then she noticed Gerda's kidnapper.

A tall woman with blonde hair tied back in a bun. Her dress was white, and Regina noticed in a mirror that she wore a necklace similar in style to Zelena's, only white.

Regina gasped. Stepping back into the hallway, she pulled Henry in front of her. "Do you recognize her?" Regina asked. Henry gave a quick peek and gasped. He stepped back into the hallway, nodding slowly.

Agreeing there was no time to lose, the three stepped into the living room, and the woman turned around, staring at them.

"It's Glinda." Henry stated.


	19. Pulling down the hood

Chapter Nineteen: Pulling down the hood

Gerda stared at the two mirrors. One was a reflection of herself, the other was not. How was she supposed to know? Sighing, Gerda sat on the ground, and stared at the two people. One was the Evil Queen, who was full of power, much like Gerda was. And she had anger, which Gerda had.

"This isn't looking good." Gerda stated. Turning to the man in the hood, she pondered him. He was mysterious, which Gerda could be at times. But what else?

Standing up, she walked to the man in the mirror. "Am I allowed to ask questions?"

He nodded. Gerda breathed in a sigh of relief, and nodded. "Okay. Why do you not pull down your hood?" She asked. That sounded good. But the man's response confused her. "I will pull mine down when you pull down yours."

Gerda stepped back. "I'm not wearing a hood!" She panted. But then she took a minute to think. Maybe he wasn't actually meaning a real hood. Perhaps it stood for something else. Sitting back down, Gerda put her head in her hands.

What could he mean by pull down your hood? She pondered silently, until an idea came. Gerda had never truly expressed herself until that day in her village, where her father had been captured. She had always, and it dawned on her: she had always been wearing a hood. Of course!

Gerda had never been able to use her powers and show who she was because she was scared of what would happen. However, when she looked at the Queen, she knew the Queen wasn't scared of what her powers could do. There was something they didn't have in common.

Thinking more deeply, Gerda tried to figure out other things. She was defiant, which was the same as the Queen, but her defiance rang with courage in helping others. The Queen never did that. She always thought of herself.

More and more thoughts came into Gerda's head. She was brash at times, but so she could prove her worth. Okay, the Queen was the same way. But there was a difference. Gerda's brashness in the end pulled out the details that needed to be seen. She defied Rumpelstiltskin and broke the gem in Maleficent's staff. But she found the wand, which is what Rumpelstiltskin required. Standing up, Gerda faced the two mirrors. She walked towards the Queen's mirror. The Queen laughed horribly, but Gerda stared her down.

"I do not see my reflection." Gerda stated, and pressing her hand to the mirror, it shattered. She then walked over to the other mirror, where the man with the hood stood. "I see myself in this mirror." Gerda stated. "I see fear and courage. Anger and hope. I see myself, and the conflicts I face."The man in the hood nodded, and pulling his hood down, Gerda was surprised to see herself under the hood. "Good answer Gerda." The reflection smiled, and disappeared. Feeling oddly light, Gerda stepped into the mirror. Everything went dark.

Upon opening her eyes, Gerda gasped. She didn't recognize where she was, which wasn't good. Looking around, she saw a prison cell wrapped around her. She was trapped. Staying calm, Gerda got up, and stretched her limbs.

She saw one of the royal guards. "Excuse me." Gerda stated, grabbing the guard's attention. "Could you let me out? I know the Queen wants to see me." Gerda said, smiling. She felt oddly light.

The guard scoffed. "Why would the Queen want to see you?" He asked.

Gerda tilted her head to the side, smiling. "Because of this." She shot out magic.

Walking out of her prison cell, she noticed an old cloak in the other cell. "Dad." She whispered, for she recognized that as his cloak. Grabbing onto it, she could smell his fragrance. Where was he?

"Don't worry dad, I'm coming." Gerda stated, walking out into another corridor.

"How did she do it?" Regina demanded, looking at her victim. Michael's lip was bloody, his hair matted down with sweat. But a smile was spread across his face. Gerda had somehow managed to escape the Queen yet again, even while she was asleep.

"I don't know." Michael answered truthfully, and he received yet another blow. He was in serious pain, but it would have been far worse if Gerda had been hurt. But he knew his daughter. She just needed to know herself.

The Queen stepped back from Michael, raging at her mirror. "Guard her dungeon. Make sure she doesn't escape." The Queen demanded, but the mirror shook his head. "I am afraid that you are too late, your majesty." He stated. "The girl has already attacked the guard, and is on her way to see you." He pointed his head in Michael's direction.

The Queen turned to Michael, and smiled. "Perfect. I have to admit, I expected her to run away again like a scared little mouse. But all mice have to come out eventually." The Queen scoffed. She turned away from her prisoner, and looked out into the vast forest outside her castle. "And I know just how to bring her out. And this time, I will defeat her."

Gerda ran through the castle corridors, running straight into the Huntsman. He grabbed onto her arms. "Thank God I've found you! We have to go, before the Queen knows you've escaped."

But Gerda pulled back her arm, alarming the Huntsman. "She already knows. I'm going to face her now." As she turned to keep going, the Huntsman blocked her path. "Are you crazy? The Queen will kill you if you do that!"

"But she'll kill my father if I don't!" Gerda replied. "And I would rather die with him than live without him!" She stared the Huntsman down. When he didn't look convinced, Gerda tried another tactic. "Isn't there someone who you couldn't hurt, no matter what?"

She saw his face look downwards. He did have someone. "Yes, I do. And I admire your spirit. Let me fight along your side." He begged, but Gerda turned him down. "No. This fight has to be between me and the Queen. She already has your heart."

Before the Huntsman could ask how Gerda knew that, she ran down the corridor, disappearing behind another closed door.

Gerda looked around the room she had just entered. It was dark and drab, with sides of the room covered in moss. Shrugging, she ran into another room, closing the door behind her. In front of her was a small grave stone, or at least a drawn picture of one. On it was the name Daniel, and a small heart was carved into the surface.

"Wonder who that is." Gerda asked aloud.

"It's all that's left of my true love."

Gerda turned around, gasping. She faced the Evil Queen. Smirking, the Evil Queen raised her hands, and vines wrapped themselves around Gerda's body, binding her to the ground. She couldn't move.

"So, you've escaped my guards, stolen from my friends, and worked alongside Rumpelstiltskin." The Queen listed, counting off all of Gerda's offences on her fingers. "And now, you run through my castle, as if it was your own."

Gerda tried to move, but couldn't resist against the vines. She struggled, and felt her skin becoming cut. There were little thorns within the vines.

"But I have the upper hand now." Regina stated, pacing in front of Gerda. "I have you captured."

Gerda knew she should have felt scared, but all she could do was laugh. "You feel accomplished because you've captured a kid? I wonder how you'll feel if you ever catch Snow White."

This set the Queen off, Gerda could tell. But she hid her emotions well. Coming behind Gerda, she pushed her fingers onto Gerda's neck, forcing her head upwards. The picture of the tombstone in front of her changed into a picture of a forest.

"This is your home, Gerda." Regina stated. "As long as you work with me, it will remain that way." Suddenly, the image changed, to a forest set on fire, people running and screaming, trying to escape the flames. "But if you continue to defy me, I will have no choice but to do this."

Gerda's heart pounded. There was more to this than what the Queen was admitting. But Gerda went along with it, hoping the Queen would say more. But after a few moments of silence, Gerda cracked. "There are things that you are not telling me."

The Queen laughed. "Your father is right, you are smart. And won't be tricked." Sighing, the Queen brought forward another picture, this one of an infinite forest. There was no end to the trees.

"In this forest are two objects. One you want to have, the other you refuse to take." The Queen explained. "If you enter this forest, you must find one of the objects in order to get out. One of the objects is your father."

Gerda's heart dropped. "What if I don't find him?" She asked, nervous. The Queen smiled wickedly. "He will then die in the forest. The other object is quite close to him. You can only have one."

Suddenly, the picture turned into a door, and without hesitation, the Queen pushed Gerda through it. Gerda fell to the forest floor, and looked at the Queen behind her.

"I know you'll do the right thing, deary." She stated, smiling. Then the door closed, and Gerda was left alone.


	20. Mommy Dearest

Chapter Twenty: Mommy Dearest

Glinda looked at her guests. "Welcome." She said cheerfully. "I'm so glad you are able to say goodbye."

Henry looked at her confused. "What do you mean goodbye?"

Glinda laughed. "Silly boy, don't you know Gerda is leaving?"

This time Regina stepped in, pushing Henry behind her. "What makes you think Gerda is leaving? She isn't going anywhere."

With that, she pushed Glinda back, giving Robin time to grab Gerda. He scooped her up into his arms.

"You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Gerda my niece." Robin stated. But Glinda looked at him, confused. "You're Gerda's uncle? That must mean that you're Michael's brother! He talks about you often!"

Robin dropped Gerda in surprise. But Regina shot out her hand, wrapping a spell around Gerda's torso, so she was suspended in mid-air. "My brother is alive? How?"

Glinda shook her head. "I cannot tell you at this time." Looking to Gerda, Glinda sighed again. "All I have been trying to do is bring a father and daughter back together again, but it has been difficult. What I know right now is that Gerda is danger."

Regina, feeling her power weakening, set Gerda on the couch. Robin rushed to her side. "How is Gerda in danger? Who would want to hurt her?" He demanded, stroking Gerda's hair.

Glinda sat down in a nearby chair. "There is much to explain. All I can say at this moment is that an enemy will return to this town, with evil set upon their heart. All that stands in their way is light. And Gerda…" She looked at the girl mournfully. Henry finished her thought. "Gerda has the most light magic in town."

Glinda nodded. "She is in great danger, and I must get her away from here. I have searched through many different realms for Gerda, this one being my last. I am weak from the journey, and must return home soon. And Gerda needs to return."

Before Robin could say anything, Regina held her hand out to stop him. "Wait. You said Gerda must return. Return to where?" She asked.

Glinda smiled. "To Oz, of course."

* * *

Even though Glinda's story made sense, Regina still arrested her on the spot. But it felt wrong putting Glinda in jail for trying to protect a child, so Regina took Glinda to the hospital to rest while Robin and Henry took Roland and Gerda back to her house. It had been a long day.

"And this is the hospital." Regina explained. Oz was very different compared to the modern world. Glinda looked around in awe, but her eyes fell onto a certain bed. Regina turned to where she looked, and saw Zelena.

"I forgot." Regina said out loud, but it was too late. Glinda ran to where Zelena sat, and grabbed the collar of her shirt. "How dare you! You witch!" She spat, bringing her hand back to slap Zelena. Dr. Whales and Regina pulled her off of Zelena, watching as Zelena laughed.

"Hello Glinda! Did you hear? I'm pregnant." She stated, showing off her tummy.

But Glinda's next response made everyone pause. "That's old news." She spat. Regina halted. "Hold on."

Nodding to Dr. Whales, he let go, allowing Regina to drag Glinda off to a separate room.

"What do you mean Zelena being pregnant is old news?" She demanded.

Glinda rolled her eyes, but when she saw the serious look on Regina's face, she swallowed. "You never knew?" She asked. Regina shook her head. "Knew what?"

Glinda paused, and breathed in deeply. "Zelena has been pregnant before. She has already had a child."

* * *

Robin was the first to know. He came to Zelena's room the next day, slamming the door behind him.

"This isn't your first time, is it?" He demanded. Zelena looked up from her book, and smiled. "No dear I've been locked up before."

Robin slammed his hand on the table. "You know what I am talking about! You've been pregnant before, you've had a child!"

This caused Zelena to pay attention. She put her book down, looking, for the first time, worried. "How did you-?"

"Find out? Glinda told your sister. And she told me." He spat, turning around to open the door. Dr. Whales entered with a needle. Without asking, he poked into Zelena's skin, drawing blood. She gasped in surprise.

Along with Dr. Whales, Robin left the room. "So, what will this do?" Robin asked. He was still confused with the modern world.

Dr. Whales explained. "I take this blood and find out all I can. Then, I relate it to another person's blood. Hopefully, we'll find out who she is related to."

Robin nodded.

A few hours later, the results were in. Zelena's blood was put to the test against other blood types, but Regina and Robin both knew who Zelena's child was.

Looking down at the comparison sheet, Regina sighed. "Now what?" She asked, looking to Robin. He shook his head. "We have to tell her. I mean, it's official, isn't it?" Regina nodded.

* * *

Gerda had an appointment with Dr. Hoppers that afternoon while her family was at the hospital. Tears fell down her face as she spoke with him.

"I feel so depressed, all the time." Gerda admitted, but Archie merely nodded. "This makes sense, Gerda. Those who are most powerful usually feel different from society, and left out. Their talents don't seem to make them special, it means to make them weird." He explained. Gerda nodded.

Hearing a knock at the door, Archie stood up. "Regina, we're in the middle of a meeting, can this wait?" He asked, but Regina shook her head.

He nodded, and Regina came inside. Gerda smiled at her, but Regina's face was serious. "Gerda, I have something to tell you."

Gerda nodded, and Regina breathed deeply. "We've been doing some digging, and we believe we have found your mom." Gerda looked surprised and almost happy, but Regina continued. "Your mom was found in the land of Oz. She was adopted there. When your father was taken away in a tornado, he ended up there as well."

Gerda looked confused. "I don't understand. Who's my mom?"

 _This is gonna hurt._ Regina thought. She breathed in. "Your mom is the Wicked Witch of the West. Her name is Zelena."


	21. The Thoughts of a Queen

Chapter Twenty One: The Thoughts of a Queen

The forest was large and the trees were tall. Gerda stood up, wiping the dirt from her clothes. But a minute later she fell back down again, crying. "What do I do?" She asked out loud, knowing no one could hear her. She was truly, all alone.

Rocking herself back and forth, Gerda tried to recall all the Queen had told her:

 _In this forest are two objects. One you want to have, the other you refuse to take._

 _If you enter this forest, you must find one of the objects in order to get out. One of the objects is your father._

 _The other object is quite close to him. You can only have one._

Okay, so the two objects in the forest were her father, and something close to him. But first, in order to know what the other object was, she needed to find her father. Sounded simple enough. Sighing, Gerda stood up again, and started to walk. She may as well, seeing as she had a long way to go.

Hours past, yet Gerda's stomach remained full and her mouth did not thirst. The Queen must have done this. She didn't want Gerda distracted. Looking around, all Gerda could see were trees and more trees. Where was her dad?

Suddenly, a sound rang out in the forest. One of pain and suffering. And oh so familiar. "Dad!" Gerda called out, running in the direction of the noise. She pushed her endurance, knowing her father's life was on the line.

However, when she came to the place where the noise came from, no human was there. Only a small box, with Michael's voice trapped inside. Gerda fell to her knees, bringing the box close to her heart. "Where are you, Dad?" She asked.

Out of the box came a noise, and a flash of light. An image that looked almost real came into being, and it was the Evil Queen.

"Well dear, congratulations! You've decided to stop feeling sorry for yourself and look for your father. Good for you!" She then laughed horribly. "But I can see you are becoming frustrated. Let me help you out. Use what has been given to you. You have it inside you, and you must use it." With that, the Queen disappeared.

Looking down at the box, Gerda pondered what the Queen had said. "Inside me. What does that mean?" Gerda asked. "Is it heart? Courage? No, it can't be. The Queen doesn't pride on those things. Then what is it?"

Suddenly, and answer occurred to Gerda: she had to think like the Queen in order to find her father. Of course, how could she be so stupid? The Queen made this, she used her ways, not Gerda's. She had to become the Queen in order to solve this.

Shuddering, Gerda closed her eyes, and her ideas. She needed to become like the Queen. She had to think like her too. Opening her eyes, Gerda knew what she had to do.

* * *

The Queen laughed victoriously. "I knew she would figure it out." She applauded herself, not applauding Gerda's cleverness. "Now all I need to do is wait." She sat down at her mirror and sighed. "Soon, Gerda will either no longer be a problem or will be in my clutches."

However, the magic mirror became worried. "Is this not pushing it too far? Having to force a child to make a choice that will define her ways? To put her father's life on the line for you?" He asked. However, the Queen merely laughed.

"When have you known me to care about others?" She spat. "All I care about is my happiness, and that, my dear, is really all that matters."

Standing up, Regina needed something to do. "Guards! We head to the forest. I need a special ingredient from a certain witch, which will require some more children."

* * *

Magic. Magic was always the Queen's answer. And Gerda knew how she had to do it. She had to think of herself and herself only. Of what she wanted and how she wanted it. It was hard, but Gerda had the essence of the Queen's soul quite well.

Sighing, she struck out her hand, and magic flew out. It was sharp and quick, not like Gerda's usual magic. "Here we go." She stated, sighing to herself.

She followed the beam of light and came to a fork in the road. One of the roads, the one on the left, looked clean and sparkled with sunlight. It was very pretty to the eyes. However, the one on the right was dark, with sounds of distant animals barking and snarling coming through.

Before Gerda could think of what she should do, she noticed another box, similar to the one with the Queen's image inside. Opening it, only the voice of the Queen came through.

"Well, I see you have been making the right decisions to get this far, my dear. Smart child. Ahead of you are two roads. One looks extremely pleasing to the eyes, while the other is dreadful to pass through. One will lead you closer to your father, while the other will take you back to the palace. Choose wisely."

With that, the box exploded, surprising Gerda.

"Okay, one will get me closer to dad, while the other will" She gulped. "Send me back to the palace."

Shuddering, Gerda sat down on a rock, needing to think this through. Getting through the first task, Gerda had to think like the Evil Queen. Did she have to do the same thing here?

Coming up with no better idea, Gerda stood up, and looked down both paths. What would the Queen do?

"Well, I know that the Evil Queen loves suffering, and since she doesn't exactly like me, she would want me to suffer." Gerda stated, pointing down the dark path. "However, if I am to think exactly like the Queen, I need to act as if she is going through this."

Sighing, Gerda looked down the bright path. "Would she really want to put herself in danger? If she had to complete this task, she would want to have it easy and light."

Gerda pondered over both her thoughts. Which sounded better to follow? She had to think like the Queen, and the Queen…. always depended on her magic.

"That's it!" Gerda yelled, clapping her hand over her mouth. The snarling noises had become louder. "The Queen doesn't base all of these tasks on logic alone! She knows I have magic, but she also knows that I rely on cleverness and wit! That's why she's had so much trouble catching me!"

It all made sense. Gerda used her logic to help her in times of trouble. But the Queen relied on her magic, her most powerful tool, to get her through all her problems.

"So to get through the Queen's tasks, I need to become her." Gerda had come to this conclusion earlier, but it made more sense now. There was some proof behind her answer to back up her decisions. Sighing, Gerda closed her eyes, ceasing her own thoughts. How would the Queen do this?

 _The Queen would take the easiest path that best suited her. Think of how she tried to get the crown. She merely tried to kill Snow White._

"Woah." Gerda said, opening her eyes. She had no idea where that thought came from, but all she knew was that she needed to keep going. This time, when Gerda brought out her magic, she felt a different feeling from before. She felt more powerful, and for some reason, loved the tingling feeling within her fingers when her magic came. The lust towards her magic was large, and terrifying.

"What's happening?" Gerda asked out loud. But she had no time to think about that rush of feelings. Turning to her left, Gerda breathed in deeply, and walked through the sun lit path. She was ready to find her father.

* * *

A few hours later, the Queen was pacing her room in the palace, fuming. "Why did Hansel and Gretel deny my offer? Is family that much more important to them? She asked the mirror.

"Is it not the same with Gerda, your majesty?" The mirror asked of her. "I mean, Gerda is taking all these risks in order to save her father. Hansel and Gretel would do the same."

"Oh, what do you know!" She spat. "You don't even know what family is."

She walked into another room, where another mirror hung. Regina watched as Gerda walked down the bright path, as the girl glanced nervously down at her hands.

"She seems to be catching on." The mirror noted, switching to another one hanging in the room. "She is quite clever. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea."

"Silence." The Queen ordered. "This plan is perfect. Gerda's decision in the end will show me who I am dealing with: a mouse or a fighter."

Turning away, the Queen thought of her own father. He was away in another town at the moment, and though Regina admitted she felt no love, deep down, she had feelings for her father. Whether they were anger or love, cowardice or courage, she hadn't decided quite yet.

It mattered not, though. The task at hand was too great. Gerda was the key to the Queen's plans, and whether Gerda liked it or not, the girl would be involved.

* * *

Hours had passed, and Gerda was finally through the sun lit path. Coming into yet another unfamiliar patch of woods, Gerda sat down on a nearby rock. Though she neither hungered nor thirst, her feet were killing her. She felt the chillness of the air swirl all around her. It would be dark soon. How long was she supposed to do this?

Sighing, Gerda looked around her. The trees were tall, making Gerda feel small and afraid. Especially since the canopy of leaves blocked the sun from her view, Gerda felt alone. Standing, Gerda felt for the sword at her side, and was surprised at not feeling its warmth. It was gone.

"Weird." She noted. She could have sworn that she had brought it with her. Oh well. Moving on a little, Gerda came to a small patch of land with no trees. In fact, all she saw was a cornfield, which seemed to go on for miles.

"I wonder where this leads." Gerda said aloud. She walked towards the field, and saw yet another box. Opening it, she wasn't surprised to hear the Queen's voice. "Well, you have proved me wrong. I assumed that last task would have tricked you. Looks like I have underestimated you." The box then dissolved into tiny black crystals.

"Wonder what that was all about." Gerda said. As she was about to step into the cornfield, a thought popped into her head. _This is too easy. Something's up._

Instinctively, Gerda took a step back, and then another. She kept going until she was back in the shade of the trees. There was a trick within the field, but what was it? What did the Queen want Gerda to notice?

Perhaps she would get a better view with….her magic. How could Gerda forget? The Queen wanted Gerda to rely on her magic. But Gerda couldn't let her magic get the better of her. Sighing, she looked around and noticed what looked like a very stable tree.

Gerda began to climb. "I need a better view." Gerda gritted, as sweat dripped down her face. She hadn't climbed trees in a long time. She went higher and higher, until she could see over the entire cornfield. She gasped. Within the cornfield were small creatures, all baring fangs and snarling. How did Gerda not notice them before? Would she have not heard them?

Shrugging, Gerda knew she needed to get back down. And that's when the branch broke. She fell down towards the ground.

"Ahhh!" She cried out, and she pushed her hands under her. Closing her eyes, she expected to hit the ground, but a few moments later, she opened them in surprise. "What the?"

Gerda was floating down to the grounds. Her magic had stabled her to not fall to her death, but to float down peacefully.

Landing on the ground softly, Gerda looked at her hands. "This is awesome!" She stated, smiling wickedly. Turning to the cornfield, she smiled. "Looks like I will not need to fight." She stated. Holding out her hand behind her, Gerda jumped, and didn't land on the ground. She floated over the cornfield, happy as a bird.

"I will get through this."

Gerda had passed through the cornfield, and walked down a steep hill carefully. She had used magic from time to time, but she started to feel weird. Something was going on. Arriving at the bottom of the hill, she noticed that the sun had all but disappeared, leaving her in the dark.

She found a small hole in a tree, and wrapping herself more tightly in her cape, Gerda decided to rest. It had been a long day, and she needed to sleep. Closing her eyes, Gerda felt herself drift off.

 _"Gerda! Wake up!" Gerda could hear her father's voice in the distance, calling her name. Gerda opened her eyes, and saw her father. "Dad!" She cried, but as she tried to get close to him, he kept moving a few feet back._

 _"Gerda, let go of your magic." Michael stated. Looking at her hands, Gerda didn't even know she had been using magic. It just felt natural. "It's alright dad." She tried to explain, but Michael merely shook his head._

 _"No Gerda, you don't understand." He tried to explain, but a great wall of fire came between them. Gerda could hear the Queen's voice. "You better wake up dear. You're in trouble now."_

Gerda opened her eyes, and gasped. All around her, fire had spread, creating a large wall. Gerda tried to call for help, but could not find her voice. Trying to speak, Gerda found herself unable to. _What now?_ She thought, as she stood up. She needed out of the fire.

Looking around, Gerda noticed a small pond near her. She decided to tackle the flames with some water. But upon touching the water, she swiped her hand away in pain. There was something in the water that tried to hurt her.

Knowing what she had to do, Gerda stuck out her hands and let the magic fly. But the flames didn't calm down. What was happening?

And that's when Gerda remembered. There was a large wall of fire in her dream. Gerda had caused the fire. Magic wouldn't help, because magic is what started it. Gritting her teeth, Gerda knew she would have to find another way out. Could climbing work? No, the trees caught the fire. How about ducking under it? Under where? The fire had spread all across the ground. No, Gerda would have to jump over. Finding a rock, Gerda climbed it, and breathing in deeply, she jumped.

* * *

Regina looked awe struck at what had just happened. "This was not part of the plan." She stated, but then shrugged. "Oh well. At least it was interesting."

Looking to the door, she saw Henry Mills walk in. "Daddy!" She called out, standing up to give him a hug.

"Hello, Regina." He replied, but he didn't return the gesture. She looked at him confused. "What's the matter?"

He sighed, and sat down. "Word has spread all over the kingdom of what you have done to that poor girl, Regina." He started. Regina sat down as well. "She defied me, father. I did what had to be done."

However, Henry did not look pleased. "She was only trying to get her father back. Could you not let them both go?"

"No!" Regina spat, standing up. "She defied me, and refused to join me. Now she must suffer. But she will make a decision in the end. Hopefully it will be the right one."

Turning to leave, she stopped at her father's voice. "The right decision according to her or you?"

She turned around, a wicked smile spread across her face. "The right decision is always according to me."

* * *

Gerda opened her eyes. The side of her head was pounding. All she could remember was a brief encounter with the flames, followed by her hitting the ground hard. She must have banged her head against something, and blacked out.

Sitting up, Gerda looked around her. The flames were gone, and all that was left were charred trees and a small black box. "Not again." Gerda spat, happy that her voice came back. It must have been fear that made it disappear.

Opening yet another box, Gerda heard the Queen's voice. "Well, that fire was a shocker." The Queen started. Gerda rolled her eyes. "But I am impressed. You have completed all the tasks set before you. Your father is nearby."

Standing up, Gerda looked all around her, put deciding to use magic, she lifted herself into the air. About a mile away from her, Gerda could see her father.

"Dad!" She screamed, and she set off in the air. A few moments later she landed beside him. He was asleep.

"Dad." Gerda confirmed, and she shook him awake. Michael opened his eyes, and when he saw Gerda, they went wide. With fear. "Gerda, what are you doing here?" He asked.

Gerda, surprised, answered. "I'm here to rescue you." She explained. But as she tried to give her father a hug, be backed away. "No Gerda, don't touch me."

"Why not?" She asked, but then she saw it. The black spot that looked like ink, spreading across her father's body.

"Dad, what's happening?" She asked, tears welling in her eyes. "What's the matter?"

Michael had tears in his eyes as well. "I'm dying Gerda. And you are the only one who can save me."

Gerda looked into her father's eyes, and he stroked her red hair. "I'm sorry." He choked out.

Behind her, Gerda heard a voice. "Welcome, to the final decision."


	22. Camelot Bound

Chapter Twenty Two: Camelot Bound

The news had spread all across town: Gerda was Zelena's daughter. Everybody spoke behind Gerda's back, making her feel uncomfortable and awkward. Robin tried to call out on anyone who made fun of his niece, only to realize that most of the gossiping was how sorry people felt for the girl. Gerda didn't end up spending the weekend at Regina's. She went back to the orphanage and only spoke to Dr. Hopper, who informed Regina of how Gerda was doing. "She's really upset obviously. She assumes that Zelena left her and her father because she didn't want Gerda." He explained. Regina's heart went out to her niece, and a week after the news had come out, she decided to do something about it. She knocked on Gerda's bedroom door. Opening it, she found Gerda looking at a hand drawn picture of her and her father, Michael. Tears welled up in Gerda's eyes. "Hey kiddo." Regina stated, sitting down on the bed. "Hey Aunt Regina." Gerda said, without looking up. Regina wrapped her arms around Gerda, giving her a tight squeeze. "I'm sorry it came to be like this." Regina apologized, and Gerda merely nodded. "But look on the bright side: you have me and Robin to look after you." This made Gerda smile, but her expression went back into a frown immediately. "But what if I'm just like her? What if…?" Regina stopped her right there. "Stop. You are not your mother. It doesn't matter that she gave birth to you, she didn't raise you. Your father did, and you are exactly like Michael. And I am so proud to call you my niece." Regina said honestly. It was the first time that she admitted out loud that Gerda was her niece. Gerda smiled at her aunt. "When do you think I can leave the orphanage?" She asked. Regina smiled. "Why do you think I came here?" She held out a piece of paper. "I am your legal guardian until we find your father. You're coming home with me."

Henry was quite surprised to see his new found cousin standing outside his door. "What's up, Gerda?" He asked, smiling. That's when he noticed her bag. "Are you…?" "Stand back Henry, I need to bring in Gerda's things." Regina stated, pushing Henry out of the way. "Gerda's things?" Henry asked. "I don't understand." Gerda sighed. "I'm coming to live here, Henry. Aunt Regina is my legal guardian." "Awesome!" Henry stated, giving his cousin a hug. She returned the gesture. "Alright you two, knock it off." Regina demanded. "Now Gerda, your uncle is coming in a few minutes with your bed and other furniture from your room. David is helping him." "Okay. But where are Robin and Roland going to stay? Their place is becoming too small." Gerda stated. Regina shrugged, so Gerda told her to call Robin and let him and Roland stay at her house. "Wonderful idea Gerda." She responded. It took a few hours, but finally, all of Gerda's personal belongings and furniture had been moved into Regina's house. There was a large spare bedroom in her house which she usually used as an office, but she was more than happy to allow Gerda to stay there. When Robin heard about being given Gerda's house, he was thrilled. "Are you sure, Gerda? I mean, it is your house." Robin tried to argue, but Gerda wouldn't have it. "I insist, Uncle Robin. I can't live on my own, and Roland would be safer there." Gerda stated. Suddenly, Regina looked down at her phone. "Gerda, you need to stay here. I have to get to the office." Gerda nodded, and Robin went to go check on Roland at Mary Margaret's and David's.

A few hours had passed. Gerda had only found out that Regina and the rest of her family were off to find Emma in the Enchanted Forest. She wasn't mad, but only confused. The rest of the town that was left behind formed a committee, where one of the remaining dwarves was left as sheriff, another as his deputy. Mother Superior was put in a temporary mayor, which meant that Gerda was stuck back in the orphanage. Mother Superior wouldn't leave her alone, so Gerda stole time to herself by watching over Rumpelstiltskin. She knew Belle would appreciate it. It had been six weeks since her family disappeared that they suddenly reappeared out of the blue, all of them with their memories gone. Gerda didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that Regina avoided looking her straight in the eye. Henry did his best to remember anything important about Emma, but nothing came. All anybody knew was that now, she was the Dark One.


	23. Magical Comparison

Chapter Twenty Three: Magical Comparison

Gerda looked around for the voice, but couldn't see anything. She matched it to the Queen immediately, and listened intently.

"I see you have found your father, Gerda. How very good for you." She snickered. "But as you can tell, he is wounded, and will not live. Unless of course, you help him." Before Gerda could ask, the Queen answered her question.

"Your father has been cursed with a powerful spell that can only be undone by the most powerful magic. Your magic to be precise. But of course all magic comes with a price." Gerda could imagine the Queen doing a flick of the wrist familiar to Rumpelstiltskin's.

"You see, you will be able to save your father, but at the cost of all your magic. Choose wisely."

When the voice ceased to be, Gerda began to cry. "I knew there was a catch! The Evil Queen wanted me to rely on my magic so much that I couldn't live without it. And now…"

Gerda looked at her father. "She wants me to choose between my two most valuable things."

Michael grabbed onto Gerda's hand. "Don't do it. No one will ever be able to stand against the Queen without you, Gerda. They need you."

"But I need you, dad!" Gerda cried, burying her head into his chest. She missed his smell. The woods shone in her memories. "I just can't live without you." Shaking her head, Gerda lifted herself up. "I'm going to do it. I will not let you get hurt."

Before Michael could say anything, Gerda stretched out her hands, absorbing all the evil spell from Michael's body. He writhed in pain, but it was working. The dark blotch in the middle of his chest started to disappear.

After a few moments, the blotch was gone, and so was Gerda's magic. "Come on dad, let's go home." She said wearily.

* * *

"So, she chose her father." The Queen stated happily. She watched all the magic drain away from Gerda. She laughed triumphantly. "Now that that horrible girl is out of the way, I can deal with bigger problems at hand."

She looked at the poisoned apple on her table, and smiled.

"Not everything is complete, your majesty." The mirror piped up. Regina looked at him. "What are you blabbering about?" The Queen demanded.

Rolling his eyes, the magic mirror began to speak. "You underestimate the girl. She defeated your evil spell with the most powerful magic of all: love. Something you know nothing about."

Regina waved away his worry. "That will not affect me! She and her father are no longer burdens. Now they can cower with the rest of the peasants in my kingdom."

With that, Regina walked away.

* * *

When Gerda arrived to the site where she entered the large forest, she and her father smashed the box upon the ground. Michael stated to Gerda that the magic mirror had told him how to get back. "He didn't expect me to use it, though." Michael stated. Gerda nodded. She enjoyed being reunited with her father, but she did miss her magic. However, she did have a tingling feeling in her chest, right where her heart was.

Landing back in the Enchanted Forest, Gerda and Michael gasped in surprise. Rumpelstiltskin stood a few feet away, smiling at the pair of them. "So, father and daughter are reunited at last." He spat. Michael knew why. His plan didn't work. He wouldn't be able to make another deal with Michael over Gerda's magic.

"What do you want?" Gerda asked, tired. It had been a long time since she had gotten a full night's sleep. She was exhausted. Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Just wanted to see how your magic was doing." He started to laugh.

"You think it's funny that my magic is gone?" Gerda demanded. "How am I supposed to fight against the Queen now?"

However, Rumpelstiltskin didn't retaliate. Instead, he came and stood right in front of Gerda, and grabbed her hand. The tingling in her heart began to grow. "You have always had the magic inside you." Rumpelstiltskin stated.

He let go of her hand, and sparks of magic flew out. Gerda looked amazed at her hands, but looked up confusingly at Rumpelstiltskin. He rolled his eyes, and explained.

"You were willing to sacrifice your most powerful tool in order to save your father. This was an act of the truest love. Not all true love needs to be shared between two lovebirds. You love your father so much that you fought against the Queen for weeks in order to try and save him. You haven't lost your magic, but gained it."

"You see, while in the forest, you used magic selfishly, pushing away your light magic into your heart. Since you don't usually use magic selfishly, your other magic was pushed away."

Gerda nodded. "But that still doesn't explain how I can use magic now."

Rumpelstiltskin sighed. "The Evil Queen knew that you would use the magic defensively and selfishly within the forest. She doesn't know anything about love. So when your magic disappeared within your system, the magic of love stowed away in your heart was left untouched. The Queen knew nothing about it, and, like I said before, the Queen knows nothing about love, so your strongest magic is safe. The only magic that is gone is the magic that is similar to the Queen's magic."

Gerda pondered over what Rumpelstiltskin had told her. "So, let me get this straight. The magic I was using was selfish and horrid, not like the magic that I usual use. And the magic I usual have was hidden away in my heart. My magic of love. And when the selfish magic was taken away, my light magic was back?"

When Rumpelstiltskin nodded, Gerda's heart leapt with joy. "Which also means that the magic that compares me to the Queen is all gone!"

A week passed. Gerda and Michael stayed with Rumpelstiltskin while Michael healed up. Rumpelstiltskin helped train Gerda with her magic, and she grew even stronger. But Rumpelstiltskin told Gerda something she didn't expect. "How old are you, Gerda?" He asked.

"Fourteen." Gerda stated. Rumpelstiltskin went on to tell her this. "When you turn sixteen, your magic will become even more powerful, but all magic comes with a price. You will go through struggles with your magic. And you will face more enemies."

Meanwhile, The Evil Queen was furious. "How did she do it?" She demanded. "Gerda is able to use magic, and now she is even stronger than ever!"

In her fury of her confusion, a village was set on fire, with people running away in fear. The Queen's prediction came true. Gerda had caused much danger.


	24. A New Enemy

Chapter Twenty Four: A New Enemy

Regina bit her nails. She had to do something. Emma was the Dark One, and everyone was in danger. It was only a little while before Emma found out about Gerda. Regina shuddered.

In her office, Regina looked at a picture on her desk, and smiled. She had photos taken of Gerda and Henry. In the one she held, Gerda had her arm wrapped around Henry, and both of them were beaming. Smiling, Regina was caught off guard as someone entered her office.

"Hello, madam mayor."

Looking up, Regina fell into an immediate choke hold. Emma had become more powerful. "Emma." She cried out, and the Dark One let her go.

"We need to take, Regina." Emma stated darkly. The picture fell out of Regina's hand, and Emma summoned it to her hand. "Is this your niece? Is this Gerda?" Emma smiled wickedly. "She's perfect."

Regina tried to catch her breath as Emma sat her down in a chair.

"I've been told by a certain witch that another powerful being lives in our town, Regina." Emma started.

"And this one is a teenager. Odd."

Regina gulped. "What do you want with Gerda?"

Emma laughed wickedly, reminding Regina of how she used to laugh as the Evil Queen. "I want Gerda, Regina. I need her."

Heading for the door, Emma turned around. "I will either get Gerda firmly on my side, or have no choice but to defeat her."

Mary Margaret sat with Gerda and Henry at the kitchen as she held Neil. Regina had just texted her, and asked her to meet her outside.

Leaving Neil in Gerda's arms, Mary Margaret went to talk with Regina.

"She said what?" Mary Margaret asked. Regina had just told her about her encounter with Emma.

Sighing, Regina repeated what Emma said. "Emma knows about Gerda. Zelena spilled the beans, and now Emma will be after Gerda. You know what this means, don't you?"

When Mary Margaret shook her head, Regina sighed. "If Gerda refuses Emma, Emma will kill her."

To Be Continued….

Be on the lookout for the next segment in this series, The Decision between Two Worlds


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